The Cruel Mother and The Ballad of Susan Smith.

I was trying to find a way to start this post without spouting some long repeated statement about how mothers killing their children really, really, upsets people. You know what I mean: "perhaps no crime is horrifying then mothers who blah, blah, blah."

Really though. The idea of a mother killing their own, is horrifying. I think people would rather believe that all killers are unknowns that lurk in the shadows, rather than pondering the idea that a woman could kill her child. A child who loves her and trusts her; who she's supposed to protect with her life.







 "The Cruel Mother" has many versions and variants: "The Greenwood Side", "Fine Flowers in the Valley and the "Minsters Daughter of New York" are just three of them. The story however remains pretty much the same. A woman has two illegitimate children in the forest. She kills them. As she walks home she sees two children at play. She tells the children how well she would treat them if they were hers. They inform her that they are her children, and when they were hers she killed them.  The song typically ends with her being cursed to hell. (Link)







 What keeps certain songs alive is having a universal quality, something that people in every age can relate to. The Cruel Mother speaks to that horror and disgust that we feel, that same horror and disgust that people felt centuries ago when they heard a mother had murdered her child.

 That horror could have inspired Lee Ann Brown's modern retelling of "Cruel Mother", "The Ballad Susan of Smith." In 1994 a woman named Susan Smith claimed that she had been carjacked, and the man who did it had driven away with her children Michael and Alex still in the car. The story made headlines, bulletins went out all over the nation. The news broadcast interviews of a tearful Susan begging for her "babies".(Link)

 Then nine days later it happened. Susan Smith confessed to the murder of her children She had driven her 1990 Mazda Protege' to John D. Long Lake. She got out of the car, put it into drive, and let it roll in to the lake with her sleeping children inside.(Link)    The public's sorrow and anger was instant.  Sorrow for two precious children.  Anger for the woman that did it.  The possible motive: that she had done it to win back her rich boyfriend, further enraged people.  "That bitch." "That monster."  

I remember watching a clip of the funeral with my father. At one point he sucked in a breath, wiped tears from his eyes and said, "hope she rots in hell."

Day of Rest: Gentleman Jim Reeves

"If I, a lowly singer, dry one tear, or soothe one humble human heart in pain, then my homely verse to God is dear, and not one stanza has been sung in vain."


- The inscription on Jim Reeves memorial in Carthage, Texas.






It's always a good day for Jim Reeves, but something about fall really puts me in the mood for him.  A warm, comforting voice to listen to as the nights get colder. 






I have about 30 hours worth of overtime coming in on my next paycheck.  Great money, but I've had little time for anything else.  My schedule for October is looking a little less hectic, work-wise, and I'm looking forward to reading, crafting, baking and writing.
So relax and enjoy Gentleman Jim Reeves, one of the nicer fellows on this blog.  Tomorrow, it's back to the grind(house).


 

Another Look Knoxville Girl pt 3

Previous posts can be found here and here.



Just as a reminder, here are the lyrics from Knoxville Girl.

As I've said before I'm not a music historian so finding other's perspectives on certain songs I love is a joy.  While fuddling around on the internet a while back.  I discovered Murder By Gaslight, which had a post on my beloved Knoxville Girl.


Turns out, while the ballad does have it's origins in England and Ireland, Americans imprinted an actual murder on the song.


Murder By Gaslight led me to the fantastic article "Not Prepared to Die: Knoxville Girl" which talks about many of the things I did in my first post, although far more eloquently then I every could:

The killer didn't just visit this girl's home on Sunday evenings, he dwelt there, which carries a definite suggestion that he stayed the night. Faced with imminent death, the girl says she's “unprepared to die”, which tells us she's not yet had a chance to make her peace with God about some recent sin that's troubling her mind. Her “dark and roving eye” hints that - in the killer's mind at least - she's a bit of a temptress. Although she can now never be his bride, that possibility's evidently been raised, or why else would he mention it?  - Paul Slade

Paul Slade also mentioned another great version, Charlie Louvin's version from his 2007 album, Charlie Louvin.  It features Will Oldman as well.  The song can be found here

Day of Rest (?) The Unquiet Grave and "story songs"

I've been so busy, it hardly seems like a "murder" blog at all.  So I've decided to post something a little darker for this Sunday's Day of Rest.  Plus, it is October after all.

I've never been a fan of syrupy puppy-eyed love songs, so what I like about  The Unquiet Grave is that it succeeds at being romantic ballad and a ghost story.   A little sweet, a little obsessive, a little sad, and a little spooky.

   ‘The wind doth blow today, my love,
 And a few small drops of rain;
 I never had but one true-love,
 In cold grave she was lain.

 ‘I’ll do as much for my true-love
 As any young man may;
 I’ll sit and mourn all at her grave
 For a twelvemonth and a day.’
 

        The twelvemonth and a day being up,
 The dead began to speak:
 ‘Oh who sits weeping on my grave,
 And will not let me sleep?’
 

       ‘’Tis I, my love, sits on your grave,
 And will not let you sleep;
 For I crave one kiss of your clay-cold lips,
 And that is all I seek.’
 

       ‘You crave one kiss of my clay-cold lips;
 But my breath smells earthy strong;
 If you have one kiss of my clay-cold lips,
 Your time will not be long.
 

        ‘’Tis down in yonder garden green,
 Love, where we used to walk,
 The finest flower that ere was seen
 Is withered to a stalk.

       ‘The stalk is withered dry, my love,
 So will our hearts decay;
 So make yourself content, my love,
 Till God calls you away.’

The first version I ever heard of this song, was Jean Ritchie's a cappella version.  I was unable to find a version of it on the web, but I can't recommend it enough.

The Dubliners.  I think that this might tie with Ritchie's as my favorite version of the song.  Love those tin whistles!

What I love about traditional ballads, is the stories they tell.  Most modern music doesn't do that anymore, even when it comes to "indie" bands.  Writing a "story song" can get you accused of not being "honest" or "personal"  i.e. you'd rather make up something then explore your innermost something-or-other.  I disagree, I think that story songs can be very personal, even if the person singing them wasn't the original writer.  You bring your personal experience to them and your own beliefs.  If that wasn't true, I don't think that Luke Kelly's voice would still make me cry.

Another Look: Knoxville Girl

Original Knoxville Girl post here.

One of my favorite scenes from the movie "Searching for the Wrong Eyed Jesus".

Knoxville GIrl

I met a little girl in Knoxville

a town we all know well

And every Sunday evening

out in her home I'd dwell

We went to take an evening walk

about a mile from town

I picked a stick up off the ground and

knocked that fair girl down.

- Knoxville Girl, Traditional

She's been from Wexford and Oxford. When the Irish brought her to America she made Knoxville her home. No matter her where she's from, it always ends the same; beaten with a stick (or a fence post), dragged by her hair and tossed in the river.

Why did he do it? Little reason is given, expect for her "dark and rovin' eyes".

While the details are lurid, the music is sweet and haunting. I think that this juxtaposition of music and lyrics is why I find the song so fascinating. Some versions I've heard almost sound like a lullaby.

Arthur Tanner and His Corn Shuckers, who recorded it in 1927, are a good example of this. Tanner's voice is simple, straightforward and sad.

My personal favorite version however is by the Louvin Brothers.

Ira Louvin might have been a violent drunk, but damn he had a good sense of harmony. The high low sound, beautiful.

Other versions worth checking out are Brett Sparks With the Pine Valley Cosmonauts which can be found on The Executioner's Last Song, a fantastic album, containing much of the material that this blog is about, and Nick Cave's version which was a B-Side to "Henry Lee" another great song.

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Knoxville Girl Lyrics

Wexford Girl Lyrics