"Earl Must Perish: The Top 20 Country Songs Depicting the Act of Killing Your Partner"
Murderous ballads have always had a significant presence in traditional country music. Although they may not be as common nowadays, there remains a collection of exceptional songs about men ending the lives of their female lovers. Conversely, songs that portray women committing such acts are less frequent, but fear not! Country music also offers a substantial number of songs on the subject, and we have compiled a list to demonstrate it.
We eliminated certain contenders from this list based on specific parameters. Our focus was on including only one song per artist, which means that even though Carrie Underwood and Miranda Lambert have multiple murder songs in their collections, they were only able to secure one spot each. Songs like "Before He Cheats," "Church Bells," "White Liar," and "Kerosene" are all excellent revenge anthems, but in the end, other songs with greater popularity took precedence in the final selection.
The criteria for making it onto this list of murder songs was quite specific. Only murders with at least one male victim were considered, which unfortunately meant that Ashley McBryde's "Martha Divine," despite being a great modern murder song, did not qualify. Other notable mentions include Willie Nelson's "Red Headed Stranger" and The SteelDrivers' "If It Hadn't Been for Love," but they too did not make the final cut.
Presented here is a remarkable and wicked compilation of the most powerful songs in country music that are centered around the theme of killing a man. Take a look at the gallery below to discover our chosen revenge hits and lesser-known gems that revolve around the act of murder, particularly targeting the man in one's life (or persuading someone else to do the deed). Keep reading and don't forget to inform us in the comments if we overlooked your favorite song about eliminating your man.
Earl Had to Die: A Collection of the Top 20 Country Songs Depicting the Act of Killing Your Partner
Gallery Credit: Carena Liptak
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