The making of a murder ballad…
By Bee
Murder ballads have an enduring gothic appeal. A folk music staple, their evocative stories of love, lust and betrayal engage the darkest corners of our mind. One early song from the 1600s is the tale of Maddie Groves. The story describes an adulterous tryst between a young man and a noble lady that goes gruesomely wrong when her husband (variously Lord Donald, Barnard or Daniel) finds them in bed together.
The song was famously recorded by English folk band “Fairport Convention” and you can hear their seminal 1969 recording featuring the voice of Sandy Denny here.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dtVkYMFueWs
In more recent times Australia’s uncrowned king of crows, Nick Cave, made a substantial contribution to this cannon. In 1996 he dusted off his ouija board to channel stories from the other side and penned the “Murder Ballads” album.
A while back Brisbane based actor and singer Sandro Colarelli asked me to write a song based the Scottish story “The twa sisters”. This story has an ancient lineage and variations can be found throughout Europe. Typically this tale describes a love triangle between two sisters and one suitor. In some versions one sister murders the other, in other versions the suitor wields the cudgel. All versions involve water. Sometimes the sister is drowned, other times her body is cast into the deep.
This story has been turned into song more than once.
Here one traditional interpretation performed by Peggy Seeger
https://youtu.be/f1v4NGcfKXw?si=Z_ZTP75N7BLNpi6_
My personal favourite “The Bonny Swans” was written by Lorreena McKennitt and released on her 1994 album “The Mask and the Mirror”.
https://youtu.be/X1WakK6Axmc?si=Y8sA1mAmgvUdEKqK
In Sandro’s version the sisters are found by a miller journeying home from work. He stumbles into the crime scene and the guilty sister buys his silence with five gold rings. He is undone when the body is found and the deed pinned on him.
I personally like the way Nick Cave blends folk and modern song forms and I decided to take the same approach. My version of this story is set by a loch. The water gentling lapping the shore beguiles the gruesome scene confronting the young miller.
Five Rings Lyric Video
