6 on Billboard‘s Country Songs chart in 1959, and it remains one of country music’s most enduring, tragic classics. Though she didn’t shed a tear as he was hanged for the crime he didn’t commit, Frizzell sings that every night “she walks these hills in a long black veil/ she visits my grave when the night winds wail.”įrizzell took the song, which both Johnny Cash and Sammi Smith later covered, to No. Singing from his grave, the protagonist tells of being executed for a murder he didn’t commit, because his alibi would have revealed he was having an affair with his best friend’s wife. Like HARDY’s protagonist, there’s a sense of honor in the death here. ![]() The matter-of-fact song, written by HARDY, Hunter Phelps, Jordan Schmidt and Renee Blair, is lighting up country music, with CMA song of the year whispers already emerging. After five years, she still visits him in jail, but there’s no hint of a prison romance, or even that he will ever be released - just cold comfort that she is now safe. ![]() The man drives to her home, takes his gun from under his seat, kills her abuser and then coolly waits for the cop - all while she waits in the truck. HARDY and Wilson trade off verses to tell their story. He can’t heal her, but he decides he can stop her from ever being hurt again. ![]() The latest entry in the legacy is HARDY’s searing “Wait in the Truck,” featuring Lainey Wilson: a brutal, bleak story of a man who picks up a woman he quickly discovers has been bruised and battered. Photo: GLady / Pixabay / CC0 1.Country music is rich with murder ballads - emotional tales of revenge that often end in some ne’er-do-well getting the comeuppance they richly deserve, frequently at the hands of one of their victims or someone acting on their behalf. But isn’t that what some of the greatest country songs are about? Take a listen to these tunes, and vote your favorites up to the top of the list. True, these country prison songs are often bleak, with stories of great hardship and suffering. One of the most notable is Loretta Lynn’s “Women’s Prison,” a track from her 2004 album “Van Lear Rose.” In it, a woman tells of the unfortunate circumstances that landed her on death row: she shot and killed a cheating spouse. ![]() If there was ever a truly authentic country song about jail, “Folsom Prison Blues” is it.Īnd yes, there are some country jail songs by female artists, about women behind bars. Cash played multiple shows for years at some of the largest and toughest prisons in the country, including Folsom and San Quentin. This song was originally recorded by Cash at Sun Records in 1956 – but the version that became iconic was recorded live at California’s Folsom Prison in January of 1968. Without question, one of the most famous country prison songs is Johnny Cash’s “Folsom Prison Blues.” Cash, considered by many to be the ultimate country “outlaw,” was actually very involved in prison reform issues. These are some of the best examples, so be sure to vote for your top choices. So many famous country tunes talk about prison, whether the singer speaks as someone who is in jail, just out of jail, or going to jail. Country songs about prison have a rich history in the genre.
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