Earl Must Perish: The Finest Country Songs Depicting the Act of Killing One's Partner
Murder ballads have always held a significant place in the realm of traditional country music. Although they may not be as abundant in today's music scene, there remains a collection of exceptional songs that portray men taking the lives of their female romantic counterparts. However, it is not as common to find songs that depict women committing such acts. Nevertheless, the country genre still offers a substantial number of songs that explore this theme, and we have compiled a list to showcase them.
We set a few parameters to narrow down the contenders for this list. Our focus was on including only one song per artist, which meant that popular country stars Carrie Underwood and Miranda Lambert, who have multiple murder songs in their music collections, were limited to just one slot each. While songs like "Before He Cheats," "Church Bells," "White Liar," and "Kerosene" are all excellent revenge anthems, they were ultimately edged out by even more popular songs in the final selection.
The criteria for making it onto this list were quite specific, further narrowing down the selection. Only murders with at least one male victim were considered, which unfortunately meant that Ashley McBryde's "Martha Divine," despite being an excellent modern murder song in the genre, did not qualify. Additionally, honorable mentions go to 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 an extraordinary and wicked compilation of the most impactful songs in country music that portray the act of killing a man. Take a look at the collection below to discover our top choices for revengeful hits and lesser-known tracks that revolve around the theme of murder, particularly targeting the man in your life (or persuading someone else to carry out the act on your behalf). Keep reading, and don't forget to share in the comments if we overlooked your favorite song about taking out your man.
"Earl Had to Die: A Compilation of the Top 20 Country Songs Depicting the Act of Killing Your Partner" – Attributed to Carena Liptak
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