"Earl Had to Die: The 20 Greatest Country Songs About Taking the Life of Your Partner"
In the realm of classic country music, murder ballads have always held a significant place. Although they may not be as common in today's music scene, there is still a rich collection of exceptional songs that revolve around men killing their female romantic companions. However, it is less frequent to come across songs that portray women as the perpetrators. But don't worry, country music also offers a substantial number of songs that illustrate women taking the life of their partners, and we have compiled a list to showcase them.
We excluded certain contenders from this list based on a few factors. Our focus was on selecting only one song per artist, which meant that popular country singers Carrie Underwood and Miranda Lambert, who have multiple songs about murder in their repertoire, were only allowed one slot each. Although songs like "Before He Cheats," "Church Bells," "White Liar," and "Kerosene" are all excellent revenge anthems, they were ultimately overshadowed by even more prominent songs, leading to their exclusion from the final selection.
The criteria for this list required the murders to have at least one male victim, which unfortunately excluded Ashley McBryde's "Martha Divine," despite its reputation as one of the best modern murder songs in the genre. Similarly, Willie Nelson's "Red Headed Stranger" and The SteelDrivers' "If It Hadn't Been for Love" deserve honorable mentions, but they did not make it onto this list for the same reason.
What remains is an extraordinary and wicked compilation of the most powerful songs in country music that revolve around killing someone. Take a look at the list below to see our choices for the top revenge songs and lesser-known gems that focus on the act of murder, particularly killing the man in your life (or persuading someone else to do it on your behalf). Keep reading and don't forget to inform us in the comments if we overlooked your favorite song about getting rid of your man.
Earl's Demise: The Top 20 Country Songs Portraying the Act of Ending Your Man's Life
Image Credit: Carena Liptak
Additional content from Taste of Country
Details
Stay connected with us