"Earl Had to Die: The 20 Greatest Country Songs About Taking the Life of Your Partner"
Songs about murder have always been a significant part of traditional country music. Although they may not be as common in modern times, there is still a rich collection of exceptional songs about men killing their female romantic partners. However, it is less frequent to come across songs that depict women as the killers. But don't worry, country music also offers a substantial number of songs about women who commit such acts, and we have the list to showcase them.
In narrowing down the options for this list, we took into account certain factors that eliminated some obvious choices. Our main criterion was to select only one song per artist, which meant that even though Carrie Underwood and Miranda Lambert have multiple murder songs in their repertoire, they each only secured one spot on the list. Songs such as "Before He Cheats," "Church Bells," "White Liar," and "Kerosene" are all excellent revenge anthems, but in the end, other songs that gained even more popularity edged them out of the final selection.
The theme was sufficiently specific to further limit the selection. In order for a murder song to be included in this list, it had to involve at least one male victim. Therefore, despite its reputation as one of the best contemporary murder songs in the genre, Ashley McBryde's "Martha Divine" was not included. Other notable mentions include Willie Nelson's "Red Headed Stranger" and The SteelDrivers' "If It Hadn't Been for Love," but they also did not make it onto this list.
The remaining content is a remarkable and wicked compilation of the most powerful songs in country music that express a desire to harm or seek revenge against someone. You can browse through the collection below to discover our top choices for songs that focus on the theme of murder, particularly targeting the man in your life or persuading someone else to do it on your behalf. Keep reading and don't forget to leave a comment if we overlooked your favorite song about eliminating your significant other.
Earl's Demise: The Top 20 Country Songs Depicting the Act of Killing Your Partner
Image Source: Carena Liptak
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