Earl Had to Die: The 20 Greatest Country Songs Depicting the Act of Killing Your Partner
Murder-themed songs have always been an important part of traditional country music. Although they may not be as common nowadays, there is still a rich collection of exceptional songs that portray men murdering their female romantic partners. Less frequently heard are songs that depict women committing such acts, but do not worry: the country genre also offers a significant number of songs about women who kill, and we have compiled a list of them.
Several factors eliminated certain contenders for this list. We specifically chose only one song per artist, so 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 ultimately, more popular songs took precedence and prevented their inclusion in the final selection.
The theme of the list was quite specific, which helped to narrow down the selection even more. In order for a murder song to be included, it had to involve at least one male victim. Therefore, despite its quality, Ashley McBryde's "Martha Divine" did not meet this criteria and was not included in the list. 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 the final cut for this list.
Presented here is a remarkable and wicked collection of the most powerful songs in country music that express the desire to harm or kill someone. Take a look at the list below to discover our choices for the top revenge tracks and lesser-known gems that revolve around the concept of murder, particularly when it involves eliminating the man in your life, or persuading someone else to do it for you. Keep reading, and don't forget to share your favorite song about getting rid of your man in the comments section if we happened to overlook it.
Earl Had to Die: A Compilation of the Top 20 Country Songs Depicting the Act of Killing Your Partner
Gallery Credit: Carena Liptak
Additional content from Taste of Country can be found here. For further details, please