Another Look: Miss Otis Regrets

Original "Miss Otis Regrets"entry is here.

LaBelle doing a  gospel tinged version of the song.  I believe that it was recorded around 1969/1970.

The Ballad of Jesse James (The Dirty Little Coward Who Shot Mr. Howard

Listen to Almeda Riddle's Version Here.



I've always wondered what would have happened if Robert Ford shot Jesse James in the front.  Would he still be that "dirty little coward"?

How one looks at the killing of Jesse James, probably depends on how they view him.  To some he's a hero.  To others he's nothing more than a cold-blooded killer, who acted out of self interest and nothing more.  This entry could possibly be subtitled "sing a song of a murdered murderer".

I could go on for pages writing about the history of the James Gang, but in order to get to in the events sung about in the song, I'll post a few bios, here, here and here.

At the time of his death, Jesse James was living under the name Tom Howard, in St. Joseph, Missouri.  On April 3 1882, he was preparing for a robbery with the Ford brothers, Charley and Robert.  James was unaware that Robert Ford had been working with the Missouri governor to bring him in.

That day, the weather worked in Robert's favor, it was hot enough that James removed his coat.  He also removed his fire arms as well, so he wouldn't attract attention.  When James stood on a chair to dust off a picture, Robert Ford shot him.

The Ford brothers turned themselves in, and were later tried, convicted, sentenced to death, and then pardoned all in one day.

After they left Missouri with their share of the reward, the brothers made extra money by touring.  But it seems that public opinion turned against them, and the song "The Ballad of Jesse James" is evidence of that.  Charley Ford, suffering from tuberculosis, committed suicide in 1884.  Robert Ford, ended up being murdered himself, when Ed O'Kelley shot him in the saloon that Robert Ford owned in 1892.

Some modern historians have a far more sympathetic view of "the coward", others challenge the view of James as a wild west Robin Hood.  Yet the legend still stands.  Jesse James' name is still invoked as a hero and a rebel against tyranny (unless you're talking about that other Jesse James), and Robert Ford is still a coward and a traitor.

Vernon Dalhart's version, from 1925

The Kingston Trio

Nick Cave's version from The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford.  The movie does a pretty good job of forgoing nostalgia, in it's attempt to portray James and Ford.  While I question the historical accuracy of Cave's delivery, I think the scene illustrates the public's view of Ford pretty well.

The Pogues version, which makes sure to mention Charley Ford's involvement in the mix.

The Ballad of Charles Whitman

On 1 August 1966, around 11:30 a.m., he entered the University of Texas Tower. Once in the elevator, he asked for help from an attendant, who informed him how to turn it on. "Thank you, ma'am," Whitman said. "You don't know how happy that makes me." (From www.popsubculture.com)

In 1966 singer, songwriter, satirist and future gubernatorial candidate Richard "Kinky" Friedman was a senior at The University of Texas At Austin.  On August 1st of that very same year, Charles Joseph Whitman entered the school's administration building.  He took elevator up to the 27th floor. He beat the receptionist, Edna Townsley (who later died), with the butt of his rifle.   He fired at Mark, Mary, Mike Gabour and Marguerite Lampour  who were walking up the stairs, killing Margurerite and Mark and leaving Mike and Mary injured.   He went to the observation deck, loaded his gun, and started shooting at the people below.

Before Officer Houston McCoy fired a fatal shot, Whitman took the lives of 14 people and wounded 32 others.  The bodies of Whitman's mother and wife were discovered later.

Kinky would later sing about these events in "The Ballad of Charles Whitman" which can be found on his 1973 album "Sold American".

Unlike Bruce Springsteen's real life killer inspired "Nebraska", Kinky Friedman's "The Ballad of Charles Whitman" is no somber reflection on the nature of man and evil.  Told with a mixture of dark humor, and cold hard facts, it's a "biting examination of the culture that produced Whitman" (Fillpo, Chet. Nashville Skyline: The Subject Was Murder).

Naturally this song, upset a lot of people in Austin.

 The stark reality of the song affected audiences in Austin like nothing I've seen before or since. There were usually people in the audiences who had had friends or relatives shot in the Whitman massacre, and audience reactions often ranged from tears to screams to anger and fury and occasional attempts to attack Friedman. (Fillpo, Chet. Nashville Skyline: The Subject Was Murder)

While the song is hard to listen to, Kinky Friedman isn't lampooning the murders, he's lampooning the society that cause people like Charles Whitman to happen.   Society, and the Eagle Scouts:

I believe there is something in the mind-set of the Eagle Scout that provides an excellent breeding ground for the future mass murderers of America. Maybe it’s that, while the rest of us are desperately trying to extricate ourselves from a turbulent and troubling adolescence, the Eagle Scout is assiduously applying himself to the narrow, maddening craft of knot tying. It’s my theory that in a universe of Eagle Scouts, you’d find an extremely high proportion of psychopaths. (Friedman, Kinky. "Psycho Paths", Texas Monthly. July 2002) 

In "The Ballad of Charles Whitman" the things America celebrates are the things that also turn Americans into killers.

Other Links:

"The Madman In the Tower". TIme, August 12th, 1966.

Goodbye Earl/The Ballad of Francine Hughes

A song about two lifelong friends dealing with an abusive spouse by killing him and dumping his body in the lake.  They end up happy and he ends up "a missing person who nobody missed at all".  The song is country pop/bluegrass lite, but it's damn fun to sing along to.












While I don't advocate killing abusers, whenever I hear of somebody beating a partner bloody I feel a little twinge that says "five minutes alone with a baseball bat". I'm sure a lot of people feel the same way.   I think this song comes from that "twinge".  Besides, hearing about how Earl made a plea bargain and only got 6 months wouldn't be as fun.

Of course there is a question if the song and it's video treat the subject with a little too much levity.  Battered women do kill their abusers, and unlike the "Goodbye Earl", they seldom get away with it so easily.











The Ballad of Francine Hughes, is a far darker and realistic take on spousal abuse. Francine Hughes (who's tale was also told in the book The Burning Bed, and in the movie of the same name), was abused by her husband for years. Even after she divorced him, he refused to leave the house and continued beating her.  On March 9, 1977, after a particularly brutal beating, Francine set fire to the bedroom that she and her ex-husband shared, while he was asleep in their bed. (Info) (Info).  She was later found not guilty by reason of temporary insanity. (Info)

Sung to a traditional melody,  it's half murder ballad, and half public service announcement.  In the interview, Lyn Hardy brings up an issue that I sometime wrestle with when it comes to my love for traditional murder ballads: most of them are about men killing women.  Not just murder ballads; most of the songs I've found are about men killing women.  In most cases that I've found, if a man is murdered in the song, it's usually by another man.

What makes the men in murder ballads different than real-life perpetrators of violence, is that they are often presented as "good guys" who were suddenly overcome by rage, fear, love (yes love), or some other type of strong emotion.  Real life abuse is systematic, and often escalates.  Abusers who kill their spouses have probably abused them in the past.  These aren't crimes of passion, they are premeditated acts of violence.
(Info)

So why sing about it?  The murder ballad appeals to the darker aspect of human nature.  Tossing a abusive spouse in the lake; shooting a cheating spouse with a machine gun;  Getting revenge on a racist cop.  Would we do it if we could?

Francine Hughes wasn't just a woman in a song.  On the night of March 9th in 1977, Francine decided that Mickey had to die.

Miss Otis Regrets

A fine Cole Porter tune. This version, is by the lovely Ella Fitzgerald:








The moment before she died/she lifted up her lovely head and cried

I love that line.

Unlike the previous two songs I've discussed, "Miss Otis Regrets" is told in a third person narrative. A servant (?) telling Miss Otis' friends, oh so politely, that her mistress is unable to fulfill her social obligations because, she's, well, sort of dead. A fallen woman, who can no longer speak for herself. The tragedy of the song, isn't really the murder, it's her downfall.

Another great take on the song: