Each of these songs are fictional, but each is also a story about people who have been murdered for revenge. One is a tale of a revenge murder for another revenge murder, one is from the perspective of the person who was murdered in revenge, and one is from the perspective of the vengeful murderer.
The last one is the most difficult to believe, so let's begin with that song about revenge murders.
The Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia by Vicki Lawrence
This story begins with Andy telling his friend about his wife's infidelity. Though, he is telling him about another person with whom she is having an affair, he admits to having been with her himself.
He comes home confused and to an empty house. Here is the account of what happened:
Brother thought his wife musta left town
So he went home and finally found
The only thing Papa had left him and that was a gun
Then he went off to Andy's house
Slippin' through the backwoods quiet as a mouse
Came upon some tracks too small for Andy to make
He looked through the screen at the back porch door
And he saw Andy lying on the floor
In a puddle of blood and he started to shake
He is arrested for the murder he didn't commit, and is found guilty in a "make-believe trial." The chorus tells us that he is actually executed for the murder of Andy.
That's the night that the lights went out in Georgia
That's the night that they hung an innocent man
The twist in the song is that it is from the perspective of the sister of the person who was hanged despite being innocent. Unless her brother was immediately lynched, and she did not know about the trial, the conclusion is a bit far-fetched:
Well, they hung my brother before I could say
The tracks he saw while on his way
To Andy's house and back that night were mine.
She then admits to also murdering her sister-in-law and hiding the body -- out of revenge for cheating on her now-dead brother, of course!
El Paso by Marty Robbins
This song was a huge country-western hit in the 1960s. It is a tale from the late 19th century about a cowboy who loves a dancer at the local cantina. One day when he goes in to see her she is having a drink with a young fellow who is wooing her.
This guy does what men have long done in fits of jealous rage: he shoots him. He immediately knows he is in trouble.
One night a wild young cowboy
Wild as the west Texas wind
Dashing and daring, a drink he was sharing
With wicked Falina, the girl that I loved
So in anger I challenged his right for the love of this maiden
Down went his hand for the gun that he wore
My challenge was answered in less than a heartbeat
The handsome young stranger lay dead on the floor
Just for a moment I stood there in silence
Shocked by the foul evil deed I had done
Many thoughts raced through my mind as I stood there
But I had one chance and that was to run
That was a murder, but it was not a revenge murder. That murder will occur because this guy is willing to face others murdering him to avenge the murder of the handsome young cowboy just to see Falina again. He describes the scene riding back to her like this:
Off to my right I see five mounted cowboys
Off to my left ride a dozen or more
Shouting and shooting, I can't let them catch me
I have to make it to Rosa's back door
Something is dreadfully wrong for I feel
A deep burning pain in my side
Though I am trying to stay in the saddle
I'm getting weary, unable to ride
The song ends with him achieving his objective to see Falina, but also with those who murdered him out of revenge accomplishing their objective.
Smackwater Jack by Carole King
This song was, by most accounts, a lighthearted song intended to show off the music more than the lyrics. It is one of Carole King's jazziest songs, so it meets that objective beautifully.
Over time, though, the words to this song from the early 1970s seem almost prophetic. Smackwater Jack bought a shotgun and shot up a congregation without a thought about the consequences. There is the line that his motivation is that he is done with the abuse, which some speculate is a hint about the sexual abuse of boys by clergymen.
Here is the opening verse:
Now Smackwater Jack, he bought a shotgun
'cause he was in the mood for a little confrontation
He just let it all hang loose
He didn't think about the noose
He couldn't take no more abuse
So he shot down the congregation
This brings on the obvious confrontation with law enforcement, which in this neck of the woods is Big Jim. If the song is metaphoric, Big Jim could represent society. It is certainly understandable that we cannot allow victims to kill for revenge, but we too often overlook why things happen. We too often try to resolve the symptoms of problems rather than the problems themselves. The hint at this is a slight change in the chorus from not able to talk to a man with a shotgun in his hand, to not being able to talk to a man who don't want to understand.
The final verse seems almost prophetic about society's apathy to problems that we forget about over time. Everyone is happy that the culprit is gone, and the truth that it was a lynching was not important to them. It leads to the last lines in the song:
And on the whole, It was a very good year
For the undertaker
* * * * *
You may also enjoy these posts:
