Execution Songs

Posted Thu May 1 9:16pm PDT by Robert of the Radish in The Y! Music Playlist Blog

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According to Amnesty International, more than 1,145 people from 23 countries were executed in 2003. In America, there have been 956 executions since 1976 when the death penalty was reinstated. There have also been over 100 people released from death row over this same period, due to evidence of innocence being discovered. In the year 2000 Gov. George Ryan made Illinois the first of 38 U.S. states with capital punishment to impose a moratorium on executions after the state released 13 death row inmates who were wrongly convicted.

The death penalty continues to be something that divides many people around the world. Wherever you stand on the issue though, there is no denying that the subject makes for powerful art. Many books, songs and films have been produced about capital punishment and the horrible anguish felt by criminals, victims and the families.

The idea of someone sitting in a cell with the knowledge that they will be killed at daybreak makes for poignant storytelling. Over the years songs have told the story from the perspective of the accused (innocent and guilty), the family of the accused, the victim, the family of the victim and the law.

Listen to this playlist for a real emotional rollercoaster. From Johnny Cash’s version of Shel Silverstein’s “25 Minutes To Go”, which counts down the minutes to the hangman’s noose in quite a chilling fashion, to the traditional “Tom Dooley”, which is based on the true story of the murder of Laura Foster circa 1866 in North Carolina, to the comical “My Last Meal” by Jimmy Rogers which tells the story of a death row inmate who gives the warden an impossible last meal request of “two dinosaurs” and “mosquito knees” among other things.

I think you’ll enjoy the depth of songs that relate to this morbid subject.

“Well, I've seen ‘em fight like lions, boys
I've seen 'em go like lambs
And I've helped to drag ‘em when they could not stand
And I've heard their mamas cryin'
when they heard that big door slam
And I've seen the victim's family holdin' hands”

- Steve Earle, “Ellis Unit One"

Execution Songs Playlist

4 Comments

1. roboconnordownssyndrom - Fri May 2 7:22am PDT

You quote Amnesty International. That's reliable. API, the New York Times, and every other Bu11 [profane] organization that has an agenda. I expect to see you on, "To Catch a Predator", with that salad tossing rump ranger, Rob O'Connor.

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2. steel_blitz84 - Fri May 2 7:40am PDT

Wow! you got Zeppelin, Maiden, and Metallica.
Very cool list of tunes. I would add the Misfits: London Dungeon.

3. Yahoo! Music User - Thu May 8 9:02am PDT

10,000 Maniacs - I'm Not the Man

http://www.lyricstime.com/10000-maniacs-i-m-not-the-man-lyrics.html

4. infranationalhouseofcolin - Fri May 2 3:55pm PDT

not a bad list. i would also add: "let him dangle" - elvis costello and "gary gilmore's eyes" - the adverts.

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Execution Songs

25 Minutes To Go - Johnny Cash

The Long Black Veil - The Chieftains

Ellis Unit One - Steve Earle

Gallows Pole - Led Zeppelin

The Fall Of Troy - Tom Waits

Green, Green Grass Of Home - Porter Wagoner

Women's Prison - Loretta Lynn

My Last Meal - Jimmy Rogers

Promises - Lyle Lovett

Margaret On The Guillotine - Morrissey

Dead Man Walkin' - Lynyrd Skynyrd

Dead Man Walkin' - Bruce Springsteen

Woman On The Tier (I'll See You Through) - Suzanne Vega

Tom Dooley - The Kingston Trio

John Hardy - Uncle Tupelo

Crime For Crime - Ani DiFranco

Hangman - Peter, Paul & Mary

Poor Will & The Jolly Hangman - Fairport Convention

Hangman, Swing Your Rope - Hobert Smith

The Mercy Seat - Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds

Psycho Joe - Blues Traveler

Psycho Joe - Blues Traveler

Joe Bean - Johnny Cash

Sing Me Back Home - Merle Haggard

Hangman Hang My Shell On A Tree - Spooky Tooth

Ride The Lightning - Metallica

Hallowed Be Thy Name - Iron Maiden

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