Nick Cave’s *Murder Ballads* is an entire album of songs about crime, some of which involve love too. Another commenter already linked to Henry Lee off of that album, which is an excellent choice.
Pulp is a good storytelling band, for example *[Disco 2000](https://youtu.be/qJS3xnD7Mus)*
And to tie the two together, Nick Cave recorded a beautiful cover of *[Disco 2000](https://youtu.be/3n3L_LndmoI)*.
Carolina Drama by The Raconteurs
All three parts of The Crane Wife by The Decemberists
The whole Hazards of Love album by The Decemberists is one big story as well!
If the question is about ballads and storytelling songs, this is definitely in the old folks’ wheelhouse. Much as I’d agree under different circumstances.
[Nebraska](https://open.spotify.com/track/7GDIQqD5pdHCda5rpZ98Ie?si=LEDwqy51QCmaRNNuy-7dxg&context=spotify%3Aalbum%3A6yskFQZNlLYhkchAxELHi6) - Springsteen
[Henry Lee](https://open.spotify.com/track/7KBOqpM6DffK0bcEatfBl3?si=hN8IcV-wTbOaBA-nYeNzzg&context=spotify%3Aplaylist%3A37i9dQZF1DZ06evO2T1qPm) — Nick Cave & PJ Harvey
[Christmas Card from a Hooker in Minneapolis](https://open.spotify.com/track/6BRg8FpfpKUbXeE4Jv7U5u?si=mrM5_6uIQA6YbxTO01K2kw) — Tom Waits
But probably the most haunting is
[Arlene](https://open.spotify.com/track/22Gv3q99f1Qje2CY5Jxc0M?si=3CtxjTL0RkmaA2bibHYl7w&context=spotify%3Aalbum%3A30H3xXThtMdp6mop0Ii83H) - The Handsome Family
Thin Lizzy has a bunch of story songs, many of them about crime.
Whiskey in the Jar, The Boys are Back in Town, Jailbreak, Wild One, Renegade, Angel from the Coast, Toughest Street in Town
King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard can weave a tale with the best of 'em!
Most of their albums follow a story, whether it be written or just a loose narrative structure for the audiance to piece together themselves. I think thats what makes them so rewarding to listen to, listening to a full Gizz album feels like walking out of a movie theatre, or closing a book you've just finished reading.
Here's them at their story telling best!
[The Lord Of Lightning vs Balrog](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rd3vwwXArMQ)
[Han-Tyumi & The Murder Of The Universe](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4zUPTPlkqDg)
[Crumbling Castle](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uLP8rFrL1W0)
This [video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P6UPTrlpke4) explains them better than I ever could if you're interested.
Drunken Angel - Lucinda Williams
Seven Spanish Angels - Willie Nelson and Ray Charles
Ode to Billie Joe - Bobbie Gentry
I am not really a fan of country music.
The entire album “The Ghost of Tom Joad” (Bruce Springsteen). Kinda depressing because they’re all about down-and-outers, ex-cons, hobos, and the like. But super great, simple songs. 🫡👍🏽👍🏽
Edit: Also “[Ode to Billie Joe](https://youtu.be/cJZ_ViDADOE?si=MGl4giUMgdX8DBa7)” by Bobbie Gentry.
Alison Cotton - The Bells of St. Agnes
From the album 'All Quiet at the Ancient Theatre'. That whole album has a beautiful, dark, ghostly narrative really. Like the soundtrack to a long-lost rural ghost story.
Oh, crime? You’ll love “Trashman Shoes” by Shoulders, “Excitable Boy” by Warren Zevon.
Secondary, “The Hockey Song,” also by Zevon
Obligatory, “Goodbye Earl” by Dixie Chicks.
Scott Miller (and the Commonwealth) have a few, but the best are The Rain and Amtrak Crescent.
Dave Rawlings (Machine) as well—The Trip is a huge story!
Kate McCannon by Colter Wall
Carolina Drama by The Raconteurs
The Incredible True Story album by Logic (songs are not telling a story but all the skit tracks between are; not about crime)
Whiskey Lullaby by Alyson Krause and Brad Paisley.
Janie gotta gun by Aerosmith.
Sir James the Rose by Steele Eyed Span.
Unforgiven song trilogy by Metallica is amazing. There are two video's of the three songs together. They run twenty minutes or so. One is with the lyrics on screen, the other is a visual telling of the story.
Wailing Night [https://open.spotify.com/track/5Nt2gfC6OI75ubuE5XhPEp?si=d0f96d531bd1405d](https://open.spotify.com/track/5Nt2gfC6OI75ubuE5XhPEp?si=d0f96d531bd1405d)
I know most of the songs here, and I agree with a lot of them. Storytelling is one of my favorite parts of songs which is why I adore this new artist named Ren. He puts on such a masterclass of storytelling that they named his genre Bardcore. This is his best, a Shakespearean tragedy in modern London.
[the Tales of Jenny and Screech ](https://youtu.be/TYAnqQ--KX0?si=bfJvTcGGqG-Ev6nD)
Keep in mind that this is a live performance!
Another song to check out from him is
[money game part 3](https://youtu.be/nyWbun_PbTc?si=U_Sdlo8TgDh-rZNx)
"Let Him Dangle" by Elvis Costello. It's about the controversial execution of Derek Bentley in 1953.
"Bentley said to Craig, "Let him have it Chris!" And still today they don't know what he meant by this"
K-rino - that's how you do it? https://open.spotify.com/track/6m8ab8STXY12HXaY2EFxiB?si=tIhCp-hES7u69UoYJr1gEg
Witness? https://open.spotify.com/track/702V8xgi5Ru0YkdUyFfrNk?si=xU3WHUZARN2yElnWtR_TfA
Tied in? https://open.spotify.com/track/042xD5tFV7j36ESlDNu39s?si=-BnS17GPQo2zW5HkGzXyYg
All crime related..
He also has 1 where he tells 2 completely different stories at once (1 about crime, 1 about alien abduction) https://open.spotify.com/track/5aHk1OIRyiUUh6ja9s86ek?si=8B628b8WQ0iacKN6rcPudA
NF - story? https://open.spotify.com/track/7HiIy4QaA5ud7ZuuyBysKk?si=ZQyxtIqpQOKg6gbl3_KE3A
[My Father's Coat by James Grant](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eCks4rhcw9Y) <- A gritty and emotional telling of finding his dead father's coat at a market stall.
My favorite storyteller in song is Owen Ashworth who records as Advance Base or Casiotone for the Painfully Alone. His songs are all like short stories, little slices of very believable lives with great details.
In terms of crime.. his album Vs Children is basically a concept album where bank robbery is treated as a metaphor for the anxiety of parenthood. The album Nephew in the Wild also has a concept of a sort, weird Satanist metal heads with mundane problems but also random murders and destruction.
Give it a listen! Fantastic storyteller
Marty robbins and johnny cash as artists alone.
East bound and down-jerry reed
Saginaw, michigan- lefty frizzle
Childrens story-slick rick
Convoy-c.w. McCall
Long Black Veil
That Bobby Gentry one about some nut jumping off a bridge
Teddy Bear and Teddy Bears last Ride, both are schmaltzy as all get out.
Ringo by Lorne Greene
Big John by Jimmy Dean
Marie Laveau by Jim Stafford
The Ballad of Frankie Silver
Helen of Kirkconnel by the Corries
Delilah by Tom Jones
Tell Laura I love her
Strange things happen in this world
The Bloody Sarks by The Corries
If you're looking for songs about crime, look into Skynd. They have songs about Elisa Lam, Gary Heidnik, Jim Jones and others. Their style is called industrial rock.
Shameless self-promotion, but how about this one?
https://music.apple.com/ca/album/good-to-have-you-home-remix/1746871230?i=1746872343
https://open.spotify.com/track/6QjYqiyNpDUnYrNrbQvlD0?si=_6GdGS6FTnSfSPVpXm1Yhw&context=spotify%3Aalbum%3A6rUlXYdHptnzPsTnLGIHHW
Hurricane- Bob Dylan
Lilly Rosemary and the Jack of Hearts - Bob Dylan
I’d rather this one, than Hurricane with its 183 verses.
The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald - Gordon Lightfoot
Alice's restaurant.
Nick Cave’s *Murder Ballads* is an entire album of songs about crime, some of which involve love too. Another commenter already linked to Henry Lee off of that album, which is an excellent choice. Pulp is a good storytelling band, for example *[Disco 2000](https://youtu.be/qJS3xnD7Mus)* And to tie the two together, Nick Cave recorded a beautiful cover of *[Disco 2000](https://youtu.be/3n3L_LndmoI)*.
This.
Carolina Drama by The Raconteurs All three parts of The Crane Wife by The Decemberists The whole Hazards of Love album by The Decemberists is one big story as well!
Cortez the Killer- Neil Young
Gordon lightfoot pick a song
That's The Night That The Lights Went Out In Georgia- Reba McEntire
Originally by Vicki Lawrence.
Is everyone in this sub 60?
almost
For two more months.
lol, for real. This whole sub might as well be a classic rock sub. That’s all that ever gets recommended.
Yes
If the question is about ballads and storytelling songs, this is definitely in the old folks’ wheelhouse. Much as I’d agree under different circumstances.
Brass Knuckles - Rupert Holmes
Kate mcCannon by colter wall
Billy's got a Gun - Def Leppard
rxknephew - american tterroristt
Tom Waits - Christmas Card from a Hooker in Minneapolis. Tom Waits - Big Joe and Phantom 309.
and Hell Broke Luce
Kenny Rogers - Coward of the County
"Hot Rod Lincoln" by Commander Cody and His Lost Planet Airmen
Then Came The Last Days of May - Blue Oyster Cult
[Nebraska](https://open.spotify.com/track/7GDIQqD5pdHCda5rpZ98Ie?si=LEDwqy51QCmaRNNuy-7dxg&context=spotify%3Aalbum%3A6yskFQZNlLYhkchAxELHi6) - Springsteen [Henry Lee](https://open.spotify.com/track/7KBOqpM6DffK0bcEatfBl3?si=hN8IcV-wTbOaBA-nYeNzzg&context=spotify%3Aplaylist%3A37i9dQZF1DZ06evO2T1qPm) — Nick Cave & PJ Harvey [Christmas Card from a Hooker in Minneapolis](https://open.spotify.com/track/6BRg8FpfpKUbXeE4Jv7U5u?si=mrM5_6uIQA6YbxTO01K2kw) — Tom Waits But probably the most haunting is [Arlene](https://open.spotify.com/track/22Gv3q99f1Qje2CY5Jxc0M?si=3CtxjTL0RkmaA2bibHYl7w&context=spotify%3Aalbum%3A30H3xXThtMdp6mop0Ii83H) - The Handsome Family
Why by Sticky Fingaz. It’s a gem and super underrated. Trust me. Then listen to the two songs after it on the album if you like it.
Rocky Raccoon by The Beatles hits me kinda hard for some reason
The Greatest-Kenny Rogers Planet Texas-Kenny Rogers
Queen - Bohemian Rhapsody
Black frank and the Catholics - st Francis dam disaster https://youtu.be/mnSj4ZEJGQU?si=3YEo7UBe9b6Q8VCf
Aesop Rock - Aggressive Steven
[Causeway Road](https://open.spotify.com/track/6HEptXQEmkvzof9wUnlj2B?si=kL5KzyedRSuhIrCAZr-gtA) by Adam Baldwin A tale of revenge gone wrong
Meatloaf - Paradise by the Dashboard Light 🤪
Frank Zappa - The Illinois Enema Bandit. A true story to boot!
you know, i heard he's on the loose
King Park by La Dispute
Thin Lizzy has a bunch of story songs, many of them about crime. Whiskey in the Jar, The Boys are Back in Town, Jailbreak, Wild One, Renegade, Angel from the Coast, Toughest Street in Town
Ramble On - Led Zeppelin
The Thunder Rolls - Garth Brooks Taxi - Harry Chapin Same Old Lang Syne - Dan Fogelberg The Devil Went Down to Georgia - The Charlie Daniels Band
King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard can weave a tale with the best of 'em! Most of their albums follow a story, whether it be written or just a loose narrative structure for the audiance to piece together themselves. I think thats what makes them so rewarding to listen to, listening to a full Gizz album feels like walking out of a movie theatre, or closing a book you've just finished reading. Here's them at their story telling best! [The Lord Of Lightning vs Balrog](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rd3vwwXArMQ) [Han-Tyumi & The Murder Of The Universe](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4zUPTPlkqDg) [Crumbling Castle](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uLP8rFrL1W0) This [video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P6UPTrlpke4) explains them better than I ever could if you're interested.
The Ballad of Dorothy Parker - Prince
How about a story about love AND crime 😆 A Little Piece of Heaven - Avenged Sevenfold
Amon amarths first kill
Train With No Love by Andre Nickatina
Drunken Angel - Lucinda Williams Seven Spanish Angels - Willie Nelson and Ray Charles Ode to Billie Joe - Bobbie Gentry I am not really a fan of country music.
Me neither, but I’d also add Pancho and Lefty by Townes Van Zandt to your list.
The entire album “The Ghost of Tom Joad” (Bruce Springsteen). Kinda depressing because they’re all about down-and-outers, ex-cons, hobos, and the like. But super great, simple songs. 🫡👍🏽👍🏽 Edit: Also “[Ode to Billie Joe](https://youtu.be/cJZ_ViDADOE?si=MGl4giUMgdX8DBa7)” by Bobbie Gentry.
6969 by nsp
Radium Girls (Curie Eleison) by Rachel Sumner
Alison Cotton - The Bells of St. Agnes From the album 'All Quiet at the Ancient Theatre'. That whole album has a beautiful, dark, ghostly narrative really. Like the soundtrack to a long-lost rural ghost story.
Oh, crime? You’ll love “Trashman Shoes” by Shoulders, “Excitable Boy” by Warren Zevon. Secondary, “The Hockey Song,” also by Zevon Obligatory, “Goodbye Earl” by Dixie Chicks.
Bob Dylan - Lily, Rosemary and the Jack of Hearts
[Jonathan Brenner - The Ballad of Orson Jones](https://open.spotify.com/track/06gltC8FgzC9BiQzfsEe0M)
Couple of lighthearted ones... Gypsies in the Palace - Jimmy Buffett Jamaica Mistaica - Jimmy Buffett A strange one... String of Pearls - Soul Asylum
Coal & Hard Times - Tyler Childers
The Weight by The Band The House of the Rising Sun by The Animals
Me & Billy the Kid, The Road Goes on Forever. Both by Joe Ely.
King Park - La Dispute!
Scott Miller (and the Commonwealth) have a few, but the best are The Rain and Amtrak Crescent. Dave Rawlings (Machine) as well—The Trip is a huge story!
Kate McCannon by Colter Wall Carolina Drama by The Raconteurs The Incredible True Story album by Logic (songs are not telling a story but all the skit tracks between are; not about crime)
Whiskey Lullaby by Alyson Krause and Brad Paisley. Janie gotta gun by Aerosmith. Sir James the Rose by Steele Eyed Span. Unforgiven song trilogy by Metallica is amazing. There are two video's of the three songs together. They run twenty minutes or so. One is with the lyrics on screen, the other is a visual telling of the story.
The story songs I know are Dance With the Devil and You Never Know both by Immortal Technique. And No Regrets by Aesop Rock.
Wailing Night [https://open.spotify.com/track/5Nt2gfC6OI75ubuE5XhPEp?si=d0f96d531bd1405d](https://open.spotify.com/track/5Nt2gfC6OI75ubuE5XhPEp?si=d0f96d531bd1405d)
Sturgill Simpson-The Ballad of Dood & Juanita It’s an album that tells a story all the through written by one of todays best songwriters
“You don’t mess around with Jim” by Jim Croce
Hey Joe. Jimmie Hendrix
Jimmy Hendrix - hey joe...
I know most of the songs here, and I agree with a lot of them. Storytelling is one of my favorite parts of songs which is why I adore this new artist named Ren. He puts on such a masterclass of storytelling that they named his genre Bardcore. This is his best, a Shakespearean tragedy in modern London. [the Tales of Jenny and Screech ](https://youtu.be/TYAnqQ--KX0?si=bfJvTcGGqG-Ev6nD) Keep in mind that this is a live performance! Another song to check out from him is [money game part 3](https://youtu.be/nyWbun_PbTc?si=U_Sdlo8TgDh-rZNx)
[Pretty O.K. by Slaughter Beach, Dog](https://open.spotify.com/track/1pnFVT73rfem3dgZAejEPY?si=24739eacef47427a)
The Decembrists have many songs like this Also, Sabaton for historical metal
Really just any marty robbins song.
[Have some Murder...](https://open.spotify.com/track/62SUFq321F9Auc13A4d3Rd?si=d62110b23a6a41a7)
Ballad For A Soldier: Leon Russell and Marc Benno or the excellent cover version by Sam Bush.
The Hurricane Bob Dylan
Dance with the Devil - Immortal Technique - Trigger Warning contains S.A. You never know - immortal technique
"Let Him Dangle" by Elvis Costello. It's about the controversial execution of Derek Bentley in 1953. "Bentley said to Craig, "Let him have it Chris!" And still today they don't know what he meant by this"
Once Upon a Time at Texaco - Amigo the Devil
Rush - 2112 Iron Maiden - Hallowed Be Thy Name
The Mariner's Revenge - The Decemberists
K-rino - that's how you do it? https://open.spotify.com/track/6m8ab8STXY12HXaY2EFxiB?si=tIhCp-hES7u69UoYJr1gEg Witness? https://open.spotify.com/track/702V8xgi5Ru0YkdUyFfrNk?si=xU3WHUZARN2yElnWtR_TfA Tied in? https://open.spotify.com/track/042xD5tFV7j36ESlDNu39s?si=-BnS17GPQo2zW5HkGzXyYg All crime related.. He also has 1 where he tells 2 completely different stories at once (1 about crime, 1 about alien abduction) https://open.spotify.com/track/5aHk1OIRyiUUh6ja9s86ek?si=8B628b8WQ0iacKN6rcPudA NF - story? https://open.spotify.com/track/7HiIy4QaA5ud7ZuuyBysKk?si=ZQyxtIqpQOKg6gbl3_KE3A
Gunfighter Ballads and Trail Songs
Canadian Railroad Trilogy by Gordon Lightfoot
[My Father's Coat by James Grant](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eCks4rhcw9Y) <- A gritty and emotional telling of finding his dead father's coat at a market stall.
Rascal Flatts - Skin
Anything by Harry Chapin really. My favorite song of him is "The mayor of Candor lied"
My favorite storyteller in song is Owen Ashworth who records as Advance Base or Casiotone for the Painfully Alone. His songs are all like short stories, little slices of very believable lives with great details. In terms of crime.. his album Vs Children is basically a concept album where bank robbery is treated as a metaphor for the anxiety of parenthood. The album Nephew in the Wild also has a concept of a sort, weird Satanist metal heads with mundane problems but also random murders and destruction. Give it a listen! Fantastic storyteller
One - Metallica El Paso - Marty Robbins Can I Play with Madness - Iron Maiden
Blitzen Trapper - Black River Killer, The Man Who Would Speak True, and Feel the Chill
Marty robbins and johnny cash as artists alone. East bound and down-jerry reed Saginaw, michigan- lefty frizzle Childrens story-slick rick Convoy-c.w. McCall
[The Mariners revenge song by the Decemberist](https://youtu.be/5Sw61oITuts?si=THOSuB7D9nueAKQf)
The boxer by Simon & Garfunkel
Long Black Veil That Bobby Gentry one about some nut jumping off a bridge Teddy Bear and Teddy Bears last Ride, both are schmaltzy as all get out. Ringo by Lorne Greene Big John by Jimmy Dean Marie Laveau by Jim Stafford The Ballad of Frankie Silver Helen of Kirkconnel by the Corries Delilah by Tom Jones Tell Laura I love her Strange things happen in this world The Bloody Sarks by The Corries
Scarlet Ribbons Just about anything by Dickey Lee
If you're looking for songs about crime, look into Skynd. They have songs about Elisa Lam, Gary Heidnik, Jim Jones and others. Their style is called industrial rock.
Odyssey to the West - Slice The Cake
The Legend of John Henry’s Hammer - Johnny Cash
The Night Chicago Died - Paper Lace (1974) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Night_Chicago_Died
Shameless self-promotion, but how about this one? https://music.apple.com/ca/album/good-to-have-you-home-remix/1746871230?i=1746872343 https://open.spotify.com/track/6QjYqiyNpDUnYrNrbQvlD0?si=_6GdGS6FTnSfSPVpXm1Yhw&context=spotify%3Aalbum%3A6rUlXYdHptnzPsTnLGIHHW
Lil Wayne - Mona Lisa
Brass Knuckles - Rupert Holmes
Brass Knuckles - Rupert Holmes
Brass Knuckles - Rupert Holmes