Earl's Demise: The 20 Finest Country Songs Depicting Male Assassination
Songs depicting murder have always held a prominent place in traditional country music. Although they may not be as common in today's music scene, there still exists a remarkable collection of exceptional songs where men are portrayed killing their female romantic counterparts. While it may be less frequent, country music also offers a significant number of songs about women who commit murder, and we have compiled a list to showcase them.
Several factors were taken into account when creating this list, which resulted in eliminating some obvious choices. Our main criterion was to include only one song per artist, so even though Carrie Underwood and Miranda Lambert have multiple murder songs in their repertoire, they were only given one spot each. Songs such as "Before He Cheats," "Church Bells," "White Liar," and "Kerosene" are all excellent revenge anthems, but in the end, other songs with greater popularity prevailed and took their place in the final selection.
The criteria for the list was quite specific and further narrowed down the options. Only murders with at least one male victim were considered, which meant that Ashley McBryde's "Martha Divine," despite being an exceptional modern murder song in the genre, didn't qualify. Other notable mentions include Willie Nelson's "Red Headed Stranger" and The SteelDrivers' "If It Hadn't Been for Love," but they also didn't make it to this list for the same reason.
The remaining content is an impressive and wicked compilation of the most impactful songs in country music that express the desire to harm or eliminate someone. Take a look at the list below to discover our top choices for revenge-themed songs and lesser-known tracks that explore the theme of murder, particularly targeting the man in one's life (or persuading someone else to do it on their behalf). Keep reading, and don't forget to share in the comments if we overlooked your preferred song about killing your man.
Earl Had to Die: A Compilation of the Top 20 Country Songs Depicting the Act of Killing Your Partner. Gallery Credit: Carena Liptak
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