Peppy Songs About Death #3
10/12 '22
I heard this one on the oldies station and was struck by how well it fits the genre. Performed by a much-mocked artist with over 75 million records sold, it reached #8 on the Billboard chart and earned him his only Grammy award.
As for the moral of the story, I find "don't fall in love" problematic. Perhaps it should be "don't initiate violence unnecessarily" or "don't drink yourself blind in a vain attempt to forget your sorrows"? Alas, those don't fit the meter.
Only one death, but maddeningly earworm-level peppy. ***
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But just who shot who? That question is not definitively answered, to the point one could make the case there were no deaths but instead a maiming and a long prison sentence.
It took me forever (and Dawn's comment) to figure out what song you meant. My brother and I sang this song all the time when we were kids. I wouldn't have thought to categorize this as a "murder ballad," but you know what, it is.
