Entertainment For Lively Minds
Let's cheer ourselves up with songs about capital punishment!
Posted by Moose the Mooche on 3 February 2012 - 10:36am.
This came up on shuffle last night, and I thought that it must be the best song about capital punishment ever. Then, thinks I, with it being a subject not very conducive to humdingin' good times, there's not much competition is there?
Oh yes there is. There's this:
And this, which includes the detail about the hangman shaking Derek Bentley's hand to calculate his weight, and therefore the length of the 'drop' needed ... Sideshow Bob-style shudder ...
Oh, and so that no one else has to post it, here it is.
Frying tonight!
Any more?
[Any references to London radio stations or Rainy Day Women will receive imaginary down-arrows...]
EDIT: Cannot frickin' belieeeve I forgot this...
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shall we get this out of the way now?
Morrisey at his most forgiving.
Only Iron Maiden are capable of the full emotional depth...
... that this sensitive subject requires.
Billy Austin by Steve Earle
Moistened the eye when first I heard it and still brings a lump to the throat all these years later
http://youtu.be/Xad0Qyu__cE
It's alright, he doesn't die in the end.
Fairport Convention - Hanging Song
Fairport devoted a whole album
to John 'Babbacombe' Lee, the man they couldn't hang.
When authorities attempted to hang him, the gallows failed three times, resulting in his release.
The new live version from last year's tour, out on CD now,
is amazing.
No capital punishment collection is complete without
this classic, coming your way on TOTP 77 in around May or June?
3 CDs worth
There are three CD's under the title The Executioner's Last Song. All new versions of death songs, curated by Jon Langford (ex Mekons). The three volumes are on Spotify.
This is just great.
Volume 1
I was given the first volume as a gift by someone with a wicked sense of humor. It is actually quite listenable though, if you're in the mood for that sort of thing. Which it appears we all are.
On a separate note
As I claimed Scott in the "Claim Your Artist" thread, I'm afraid that I have to point out that The Electrician is about torture not capital punishment (specifically US government trained torturers operating in South America).
Sorry if that derails the thread, have Kirsty MacColl with another great capital punishment song to replace it with
In that case we need a separate thread on torture...
Party on, Wayne!
An oldie
(Tom Jones: Green, Green Grass of Home)
Shoplifting was really frowned upon in the 1920s
Bessie Smith - Send Me To The 'lectric Chair
(No subject)
I know this is a bit rich when I topped the thread with a song
that's actually about torture, but this song's about people being lynched, not about people being executed by the state. Of course, some Alan Parker Urban Warrior types would argue that there's no difference...
On the other hand, as a piece of work it's probably better than all of the other tunes on this thread put together, so who's arguing?
Better than Iron Maiden?
What cloth eared people frequent this forum...
*sighs more in sorrow than in anger*
Right, we all start when the drum machine starts lads
The Wild-eyed Boy from Freecloud
Here's a lovely video playing it over Noggin the Nog
Fabulous
One up arrow is insufficient reward for that posting. One of my favourite Dame tracks of all time and smashing video clip. Thank you.
Right, we all start when the drum machine starts lads
The Great John Cooper Clarke
edit Beaten to it by Alan! and we both came up with same subject line, spooky...
I'm Not The Man
10,000 Maniacs
Nearly 20 posts and no RT?
Fixed that for you.
And of course
...I think even JP copped to this being Trad. Arr
25 minutes to go
I'm amazed that no-one has posted this Johnny Cash classic yet.
Rosanne did a hanging song too (many other versions are available)
NKOTB
A thought-provoking meditation on society's dark vengeance.
Hanging's too good for them
etc. (I don't mean it, lads!)
One of the perkier numbers on the album