Earworm

Published on 23/08/2024.

I am pleased to report that unlike last week, there were fewer sleepless nights to fuel this week’s list of suggested songs to give a listen. However, we are now onto murder. No, don’t panic! There have not been any murders in my household – well, not yet whilst there are no dishes in the sink. This idea sprouted from my partner’s obsession with true-crime documentaries. I am not sure how many she has left to watch to finish off Netflix’s repertoire, but I reckon you could count them on one (dismembered) hand. With that in mind, let us take a look at my top five murder songs I thought would complement this gruesome theme. A fair warning that some of these are not for the faint of heart!

1. A Little Piece of Heaven – Avenged Sevenfold
2. Used to Love Her – Guns ‘N Roses
3. Murder on the Dancefloor – Sophie Ellis Bextor
4. Under Lock and Key – Ben Marwood
5. Delilah – Tom Jones

A Little Piece of Heaven

Imagine Jeffrey Dahmer had written Queen’s Bohemian Rhapsody, with the music video being directed by Tim Burton. That is the kind of thing you get with A Little Piece of Heaven, an eight-minute epic from Avenged Sevenfold off their 2007 eponymous album. It is a wicked thrill ride – in both the modern and traditional sense – but if the lyrics are not to taste, I think everyone can appreciate M Shadows’ grizzly vocal, the whirling circus-esque fills, and the operatic chorus and string sections.

Used to Love Her

Guns N’ Roses were riding high after their smash 1987 debut album, Appetite for Destruction, but they seemed to change gear for their follow-up, Lies. Whilst the first half of the 1988 album maintained the steam-engine pace of hard rock many came to know and love, the second half featured a lot more gentler tones and rhythmic acoustic guitar. Nonetheless, that did not mean GNR turned to writing the same soft new wave ballads of the era, and I think Used to Love Her proves that point rather nicely.

I used to love her
But I had to kill her.
I had to put her six feet under
And I can still hear her complain.

Murder on the Dancefloor

Popularised again for the younger generation by the 2023 Netflix film Saltburn, this 2001 pop classic is not quite as gruesome as some of the other entries on this week’s list. In fact, the only murderous concern of Ms Ellis-Bextor’s was that the DJ ‘better not kill the groove.’ I would argue, however, that this well-known wedding banger needs no extra gore to make it shine when it is packed with enough funky jangle, Sophie’s sultry tones, and even a cheeky guitar solo. My only worry is how long I am going to have this stuck in my head again!

Under Lock and Key

Mr Marwood’s Under Lock and Key is arguably the least recognisable on this list, yet it is probably the most convincing murder song and an absolute masterpiece of lyricism, even from the first lines.

‘I’ve got eyes in the back of my head,’ she said,
And then she turned her back,
But she didn’t see the blow that I would land.

The song tells the tale of a fraught relationship that leads to a desperate killing, and the drama of what is no less than pure poetry all plays out to Ben’s beautiful guitar work. What is more, the singer-songwriter takes a blood-chilling part as the protagonist of the music video, adding to the creepy ambience of it all. Thankfully, I found him less the deranged killer and more the nicest chap in the world when I was lucky enough to see him in concert and meet him for a chat after his show.

Delilah

My, my, my Delilah,
Why, why, why Delilah?

Is there anybody that does not know this song? I would be shocked. I would say, however, that I know many a person that has belted out the chorus after a few beers without giving real consideration to the dark deeds in the words. After all, this is all about the cuckold persona taking ‘the knife in [his] hand’ to his callous, cheating lover. Still, it is one hell of a musical number.

Sadly, this song is now banned at Welsh international rugby matches, despite being a crowd favourite in Tom Jones’s native land, due to the nefarious nature of the lyrics. I think we have found the real crime!

Written by Lewis Brown.