"Earl Had to Perish: The Finest 20 Country Songs Depicting the Act of Killing Your Partner"
Murder-themed songs have always held a significant place in traditional country music. Although they may not be as abundant in today's country music scene, there remains a substantial collection of exceptional songs portraying men eliminating their female romantic counterparts. Although less frequent, there are also noteworthy country songs that depict women taking the life of their partners. Rest assured, we have compiled a list of such songs to showcase.
We had a few criteria that eliminated some obvious choices for this list. Our main rule was to include only one song per artist, so even though Carrie Underwood and Miranda Lambert have several murder songs in their collections, they were each only given one spot on the list. While songs like "Before He Cheats," "Church Bells," "White Liar," and "Kerosene" are all fantastic revenge anthems, they were ultimately overshadowed by even more popular songs and didn't make the final selection.
The criteria for making it onto this list of murder songs was quite specific. Only murders with at least one male victim were considered, which unfortunately meant that Ashley McBryde's "Martha Divine," despite being an exceptional modern murder song, did not qualify. There were also a few honorable mentions like Willie Nelson's "Red Headed Stranger" and The SteelDrivers' "If It Hadn't Been for Love," but they too didn't make the final cut for this list.
What remains is an impressive 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 images below to discover our top choices for revenge songs and lesser-known tracks centered on the theme of murder, particularly targeting the man in one's life (or persuading someone else to do it). Keep reading and don't forget to share in the comments if we overlooked your favorite song about getting rid of your man.
Earl's Demise: The Top 20 Country Songs Depicting the Act of Eliminating Your Partner
Gallery Attribution: Carena Liptak
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