I think it's kinda funny that they were given the opportunity to record "Heartbreak Hotel" but they found it to be "strange and almost morbid". But recording "Knoxville Girl" would somehow be better? lol this is a real great version of the song though, first time I've ever heard of this duo
As a 7 year old in Knoxvile in the1960's, I remember watching The Bonnie Lou and Buster Show before my morning cartoons and their rendition of this song. I couldn't understand how they could sing so melodically about a girl's brutal murder...a little traumatizing. I told family about it...no one had ever heard of the song. I looked for it for years and it wasn't until the Lemonheads remade the song that my memory which everyone had questioned, was validated. It is still a little creepy.
Nick Cave does an awesome version of this. I didn't even think to look up the original until i was looking up doc watson and bill monroe and i saw Knoxville girl on the suggested videos list
All songs of this genre are missing the reason for the murder. When the originals from which they stem were written in England or Ireland back in the 16th century, in this case "The Wexford girl", people were more open and the songs explained he had got the girl pregnant and did not want to marry her. In Victorian and Edwardian England it became a no-no to sing about premarital sex (beating girls to death with stakes was OK) so the verses about the pregnancy were dropped and finally forgotten.
@JBgirl77 my mom sing this to me when i was very little i had curly blonde hair(Golden curls) and i thought she was singing it about me...... and i was traumatized. No Lie!
Thanks Jack. That is all I have been playing to recently . I play Guitar, so I am constantly playing all of the Souths greatest Bands from my era 1973 onward. MarshallTucker/Allman Brothers/Dickey Bettes/Outlaws/CharlieDanielsBand/ Lynryd Skynryd/Etc. There is just something about the sound of a pedal steel guitar, and how it makes me feel.I Love mountain music, and although I am from New York, I must have lived a life before in the South. Be proud you're a Rebel, cause the Suoths gonna do it!!
My mom, Billie Faye Turner, was born in Knoxville in 1930. She had me in 1950. Believe it or not she used to sing this song to me as a young boy. Hearing it reminds me so much of Mom who died in 1986. Missing her. I never thought I would find this. Thanks for posting it.
That was great! Glad you posted this. Its amazing how dark Appalachian music can be and how it can be delivered so innocently. Much like the South itself, I feel.
@waldo99 I have tried to explain this point to my girl (24) she just can't get it. Of course she mainly listens to new stuff. Considering mine to be old and scary!!
i was doing the end of a 5year prison sentence and had a buddy that used to sing at nite he was good he used to sing this one and i loved it i found this one and played it for my daddy come to find out it was my grannys fav too
this song is believed to be written in the 1700's in ireland and was origanally The Oxford Girl. It has been changed many times though...i havent heard the origanal oxford girl but i can't get enough of this one because its so gorey and twisted and sung in a nice tune with a nice country background..it's like there singing about a rainbow humping a unicorn or something nice until you listen to the lyrics, then your like WHAT THE FUCK THIS ISN'T ABOUT RAINBOWS AND UNICORNS!!!!!
nou, the original song its from 1952 from the album "tragic songs of life" of the louvin brothers. its a great album and have more songs like this if you liked it you should check it out
This is an old folk song believed to have originated in the Appalachians. It has been arranged by more recent artists, but it's origins are quite old. Mountain communities were well known for songs such as this, as well as a strong oral tradition. People would use songs to memorialize the deceased, tell of murders, mine collapses, etc. This was one of those songs. One more piece of the rich heritage of these folks. This is my favorite version, as the Wilburn Brothers are simply wonderful
major keyed murder ballads are generally pretty disturbing to me but this one takes the cake. The creepy bassist smiles at one point as if he's thinking "yeah, beat that stupid bitch with a stick.."
More like he is thinking of getting the music right and playing professionally. You read way more into the performers here and to be frank you're doing so says more about you than they.
True, I might have exaggerated a bit, and they do a lovely job of performing the song, and this song existed long before them. I'm just saying that when you really listen to the grisly words, all the beautiful strumming and harmonies in the world don't cover up the disturbing message.
Maybe it's just because I'm a woman, but the thought of being beaten to death with a stick and then dragged around by my hair and thrown in a lake is a sobering one. The irony of it being set to major chords is the icing on the cake.
The lyrics of the song are very disturbing, no doubt. I think the perspective issue comes from the fact that at one time in history music was a story-telling medium more so than today when we have TV, radio, the internet, etc. When a song like this was composed the singer would have no issue understanding that he was telling a story not reflective of himself or his feelings, etc. Today, that line might not be as clear.
@orangeyclock The effect on you is not exactly accidental -- it worked on some of our great-great grannies in Ireland and the UK, too. The song is descended from a much older one called 'The Wexford Gal.'
@orangeyclock In the Bluegrass World, this is one of three that are often called "The Bluegrass Murder Ballads"... "Knoxville Girl", "Banks Of The Ohio", and "Down In The Willow Garden".
You can listen to them and then think; "It used to be pretty dangerous being a Bluegrass Woman".
All of them are women who were murdered (multiple ways in the same song), by men who wanted to marry them only moments before.
@Destiny4511 While didn't do major research on this...I think that this a theme of early Irish music. Predating Bluegrass Music.
I've always wondered about this theme in music. Like it has been written here, there are many songs like this one. Maybe it just comes down to it was another time...different rules.
If you like this kind of music, you ought to check out the Fiddler's Festival in Fairbanks, Alaska first week in November. It's an annual gathering bringing in Alaskan Native and Canadian First Peoples fiddlers from all over. Please attend this you will not regret it.
Common misonception.....it doesn't say "roving eyes"...it says "rolling eyes." It's in reference to the fact that he beat her so bad that her eyes were bloody and rolled back in her head.
The fact that the murder is never explained is what makes this song so intriguing.
The Wilburns and the Louvins,both brought this out about the same time.I never did learn who did it first.I know there were others who covered it later.There should have been a verse explaining his motive for her murder.
My dad sang this song alot when i was younger and my mom laughed alot when the part comes up about him beating her to the ground as dad focused his eyes on her at that momment .
For the love of God, will you people stop using this as personal instruction for bustin' off a 187 Murdler 1950's style? This is not to be copied. This is not to be TIVO'd! This is not an hip hopped song! Be smurtched, besmurtchers!
What I find interesting about this great song is that it was performed on this national TV show during a time when people were pretty much vanilla and clean cut in the mainstream. And this song about a brutal murder.
This song reminds me of when I was a kid. My dad use to talk abount this song and even knew the words but I always thought he was kidding and just made it up. It looks like he wasn't joking. The song is classic country music. Its not my taste but it does hold a special memory.
This gangster rap is too violent.
wizzest11 3 months ago
My grandfather used to sing me this, along with other murder ballads, when I was a young child.
lethargicpoison 3 months ago
the knoxville girl disliked it
doomvitus88 7 months ago 2
I think it's kinda funny that they were given the opportunity to record "Heartbreak Hotel" but they found it to be "strange and almost morbid". But recording "Knoxville Girl" would somehow be better? lol this is a real great version of the song though, first time I've ever heard of this duo
JoeyRace01 7 months ago 2
As a 7 year old in Knoxvile in the1960's, I remember watching The Bonnie Lou and Buster Show before my morning cartoons and their rendition of this song. I couldn't understand how they could sing so melodically about a girl's brutal murder...a little traumatizing. I told family about it...no one had ever heard of the song. I looked for it for years and it wasn't until the Lemonheads remade the song that my memory which everyone had questioned, was validated. It is still a little creepy.
381pb 7 months ago
Nick Cave does an awesome version of this. I didn't even think to look up the original until i was looking up doc watson and bill monroe and i saw Knoxville girl on the suggested videos list
LouisLaroah 8 months ago
All songs of this genre are missing the reason for the murder. When the originals from which they stem were written in England or Ireland back in the 16th century, in this case "The Wexford girl", people were more open and the songs explained he had got the girl pregnant and did not want to marry her. In Victorian and Edwardian England it became a no-no to sing about premarital sex (beating girls to death with stakes was OK) so the verses about the pregnancy were dropped and finally forgotten.
veldtkornet 9 months ago
@veldtkornet The only hint of a clue was when he says "dark and roving eyes",that sounds like he found she was unfaithful.
wilmaohman 4 months ago
@wilmaohman heard this many tme and never thought of it that way brother thanks for the prospective
redbulljustice99 2 months ago
Love this song...
janeydear 9 months ago
just perfect,,,,thats all
MrBillfitz 9 months ago
Great song...Wexford Girl originally. Even better haircuts...as sharp as the singing
lisduggan64 10 months ago
I grew up in East Tennessee listening to my granny sing this.:)
TheCherylcom 11 months ago
This has been flagged as spam show
when we were great
"U.S.A."
MrBillfitz 11 months ago
Great!!!
thesmokinukulele 11 months ago
My dad used to sing me this when I was little it still makes me cry
BrunettesHavMoreFun1 1 year ago
As Craig Ferguson would say
HAS THERE BEEN A MURDER!
ALHooter1980 1 year ago
A third Wilburn,brother Lester is the bass player.
welshhillbillyful 1 year ago
@welshhillbillyful and their fourth brother, Leslie, is the rhythm guitar player behind Teddy.
joeman335td 1 year ago
Sportin' that ol' W. E. Garrett snuff sign behind them! Good Lord but for the simpler days of our youth! Thanks!
dgtxdutch 1 year ago
omg what a sad song..of violence.
sweetndngirl 1 year ago
my remember my grandma singing this song when i was a small child
wanda8413 1 year ago
All people seem to hear is a pretty melody, not thinking for one minute about the lyrics and what they mean.
wvwkndr79s 1 year ago
Thanks for sharing! My father has been talking about this song for a while now. Glad I could find it here.
awilson400 1 year ago
This is one of the greatest murder songs I have ever heard.
No reason, just murder.
Fantastic.
bosszeroboss 1 year ago
violent song,
horribly violent song
the type of lyrics that say
"hey good luck sleeping tonight" :/
JBgirl77 1 year ago
@JBgirl77 my mom sing this to me when i was very little i had curly blonde hair(Golden curls) and i thought she was singing it about me...... and i was traumatized. No Lie!
imaRoLLingStonzFan 1 year ago
Thanks Jack. That is all I have been playing to recently . I play Guitar, so I am constantly playing all of the Souths greatest Bands from my era 1973 onward. MarshallTucker/Allman Brothers/Dickey Bettes/Outlaws/CharlieDanielsBand/ Lynryd Skynryd/Etc. There is just something about the sound of a pedal steel guitar, and how it makes me feel.I Love mountain music, and although I am from New York, I must have lived a life before in the South. Be proud you're a Rebel, cause the Suoths gonna do it!!
phallystorm 1 year ago
My mom, Billie Faye Turner, was born in Knoxville in 1930. She had me in 1950. Believe it or not she used to sing this song to me as a young boy. Hearing it reminds me so much of Mom who died in 1986. Missing her. I never thought I would find this. Thanks for posting it.
gershonbenavraham 1 year ago
Sponsored by Garrett Snuff, the Snuff of my Grandmother in Maryville, Tennessee, close enough to be in Knoxville 10 miles away.
TheMemphisSlim 1 year ago
This was the very first song i learnt, my uncle's sang it to me so much as a kid, i picked up on it.
meg5169 1 year ago
great singers great song
SuperVinny55 1 year ago
absolutely the best
SuperVinny55 1 year ago
It was great to see the original.
kofeilist7 1 year ago
I'm a Wilburn! And related to these guys.
welcomegohome 1 year ago
i love the old time music
jjbently1959 1 year ago
That was great! Glad you posted this. Its amazing how dark Appalachian music can be and how it can be delivered so innocently. Much like the South itself, I feel.
ProjektLament 1 year ago
I Can hear elements of the Outlaws/Charlie Daniels/Marshall Tucker, and Pure Prairie League in this beautiful tune.
phallystorm 1 year ago
@phallystorm those guys were digging on this stuff as young pickers and singers of course you can hear it cheers for having good taste : )
JackGrider 1 year ago
I like this song, there's a lot more worse things being sung in today's music anyways :)
Ky1ed 1 year ago
@waldo99 I have tried to explain this point to my girl (24) she just can't get it. Of course she mainly listens to new stuff. Considering mine to be old and scary!!
muggymuggy1234 1 year ago
Brutal
aNightmaresRequiem 1 year ago
Oh this is creepy. O____O AH KNOXVILLE. i LIVE there.
Frollockinthemeadow 1 year ago
Beautiful, the Blue Sky Boys' version is the most moving I've ever heard. Thanks for posting this great great clip.
boleary100 1 year ago
The first song my granny showed me how to play, 17 years ago !
DhunamiCE 1 year ago
MY DAD TOLD ME HIS GRANDPA WROTE THE SONG AND SOLD IT TO EM MY GRANDMA CRIES EVERYTIME SHE HEARS IT
janderson62209 1 year ago
So good I want to go buy some Garrett Snuff....
gha714 1 year ago
@gha714 I noticed that too! Arthur Smith used to be sponsored by Tube Rose and sang a cute song about it.
fordtruxdad 1 year ago
pyscho.
jayscott49 1 year ago
do me a huge favor and jump in the same lake you freakin racist so called artist!!!!
lickjuicey 1 year ago
i was doing the end of a 5year prison sentence and had a buddy that used to sing at nite he was good he used to sing this one and i loved it i found this one and played it for my daddy come to find out it was my grannys fav too
gfacekilla43 1 year ago
hahahaha!! and they said rock and roll was the devil's music??
royraaijmakers 1 year ago
I like the Outlaws version better.
catman605 2 years ago
this song is believed to be written in the 1700's in ireland and was origanally The Oxford Girl. It has been changed many times though...i havent heard the origanal oxford girl but i can't get enough of this one because its so gorey and twisted and sung in a nice tune with a nice country background..it's like there singing about a rainbow humping a unicorn or something nice until you listen to the lyrics, then your like WHAT THE FUCK THIS ISN'T ABOUT RAINBOWS AND UNICORNS!!!!!
acdcrox77 2 years ago
Close. The song was originally an English song called The Oxford Girl. The Irish adapted it to their The Wexford Girl.
Waldo99 2 years ago
nou, the original song its from 1952 from the album "tragic songs of life" of the louvin brothers. its a great album and have more songs like this if you liked it you should check it out
gamercartman 2 years ago
This is an old folk song believed to have originated in the Appalachians. It has been arranged by more recent artists, but it's origins are quite old. Mountain communities were well known for songs such as this, as well as a strong oral tradition. People would use songs to memorialize the deceased, tell of murders, mine collapses, etc. This was one of those songs. One more piece of the rich heritage of these folks. This is my favorite version, as the Wilburn Brothers are simply wonderful
QueenLane78 2 years ago
I know it's old, I remember when it came out
roperbill69 2 years ago
lol : - )
ari1234a 2 years ago
major keyed murder ballads are generally pretty disturbing to me but this one takes the cake. The creepy bassist smiles at one point as if he's thinking "yeah, beat that stupid bitch with a stick.."
orangeyclock 2 years ago
More like he is thinking of getting the music right and playing professionally. You read way more into the performers here and to be frank you're doing so says more about you than they.
Waldo99 2 years ago 4
True, I might have exaggerated a bit, and they do a lovely job of performing the song, and this song existed long before them. I'm just saying that when you really listen to the grisly words, all the beautiful strumming and harmonies in the world don't cover up the disturbing message.
orangeyclock 2 years ago 2
Maybe it's just because I'm a woman, but the thought of being beaten to death with a stick and then dragged around by my hair and thrown in a lake is a sobering one. The irony of it being set to major chords is the icing on the cake.
orangeyclock 2 years ago 18
The lyrics of the song are very disturbing, no doubt. I think the perspective issue comes from the fact that at one time in history music was a story-telling medium more so than today when we have TV, radio, the internet, etc. When a song like this was composed the singer would have no issue understanding that he was telling a story not reflective of himself or his feelings, etc. Today, that line might not be as clear.
Waldo99 2 years ago
@orangeyclock The effect on you is not exactly accidental -- it worked on some of our great-great grannies in Ireland and the UK, too. The song is descended from a much older one called 'The Wexford Gal.'
nezayorquina 1 year ago
@orangeyclock That is hilarious.
Longhammer37214 1 year ago
@orangeyclock In the Bluegrass World, this is one of three that are often called "The Bluegrass Murder Ballads"... "Knoxville Girl", "Banks Of The Ohio", and "Down In The Willow Garden".
You can listen to them and then think; "It used to be pretty dangerous being a Bluegrass Woman".
All of them are women who were murdered (multiple ways in the same song), by men who wanted to marry them only moments before.
Destiny4511 10 months ago
@Destiny4511 While didn't do major research on this...I think that this a theme of early Irish music. Predating Bluegrass Music.
I've always wondered about this theme in music. Like it has been written here, there are many songs like this one. Maybe it just comes down to it was another time...different rules.
HanksCowboys 9 months ago
@orangeyclock
I think he beats her with his hands and throws her in a river
angipangela 6 months ago
@orangeyclock If you got beaten to death, none of the other stuff would matter to you...
KatherineXIX 4 days ago
orangeyclock
I totally agree with your comments. I love bluegrass as a whole but can't stand creepy murder songs.
500SmithandWesson 2 years ago
If you like this kind of music, you ought to check out the Fiddler's Festival in Fairbanks, Alaska first week in November. It's an annual gathering bringing in Alaskan Native and Canadian First Peoples fiddlers from all over. Please attend this you will not regret it.
jjkcharlie 2 years ago
i play this song with my grandfather all the time. its my favorite of bluegrass origin.
beautiful song though it has a dark theme to it.
cameraguy423 2 years ago
I guess you don't mess with a bluegrass singer.
Elderhamm 2 years ago
actually this song is over three hundred years old.
deltabtry 2 years ago
The motive was apparently her "dark and roving eyes"--she liked eyeballin other fellas.
windhag 2 years ago
Common misonception.....it doesn't say "roving eyes"...it says "rolling eyes." It's in reference to the fact that he beat her so bad that her eyes were bloody and rolled back in her head.
The fact that the murder is never explained is what makes this song so intriguing.
darthfrylock 2 years ago
The Wilburns and the Louvins,both brought this out about the same time.I never did learn who did it first.I know there were others who covered it later.There should have been a verse explaining his motive for her murder.
wilmaohman 2 years ago
The song is hundreds of years old, with this version a variation on an old English folk song. They did not really have an option to add a new verse.
Waldo99 2 years ago
stonewall jackson did this song too
MrCodyCareBear 2 years ago
I haven't heard that one.
wilmaohman 2 years ago
Comment removed
darthfrylock 2 years ago
My dad sang this song alot when i was younger and my mom laughed alot when the part comes up about him beating her to the ground as dad focused his eyes on her at that momment .
Lotum4n 2 years ago
I find this song DISTURBING to say the least. WTF? And my Missouri buddy praises this as if its a goddamn classic.
fattdaddy3755 2 years ago
Knoxville Girl is a typical traditional Appalachian murder ballad.
ffairlane57 2 years ago
Its Irish, The origins are Wexford Girl.
DrGusset 2 years ago
Sorry. Sorry its the songs topography you mean.
DrGusset 2 years ago
English first, then adapted by Irish later on.
Waldo99 2 years ago
heard this song on xm radio channel 10
mcgarveyj 2 years ago
For the love of God, will you people stop using this as personal instruction for bustin' off a 187 Murdler 1950's style? This is not to be copied. This is not to be TIVO'd! This is not an hip hopped song! Be smurtched, besmurtchers!
captainarchernx01 2 years ago
What I find interesting about this great song is that it was performed on this national TV show during a time when people were pretty much vanilla and clean cut in the mainstream. And this song about a brutal murder.
memnoker 2 years ago
Yeah...my dad still sings this song...and the younger generations sing it too...brings back the classic...
CharleneMalcolm 2 years ago 2
This song reminds me of when I was a kid. My dad use to talk abount this song and even knew the words but I always thought he was kidding and just made it up. It looks like he wasn't joking. The song is classic country music. Its not my taste but it does hold a special memory.
Ricox409 3 years ago 2
Great love song! G U L P !
fattdaddy3755 3 years ago
yep. a good ol' time murder ballad. I wish people wrote more of them besides Nick Cave.
hrminer92 3 years ago
celebrating killing your love. how sweet. it should happen to those who do it.
irish661 3 years ago
She was sleeping around on him......
jd36a 3 years ago
Comment removed
Chasleroy 2 years ago
Great stuff & I dont think they are aware of the irony, it's sung in all seriousness.
brian1james2dillon3 3 years ago 2
nice tribute to knoxville from the Wilburn brothers.......
bjskribbles 3 years ago
I like that they wear ties and suits...they are cool...wearing nice threads...not the dirty jeans and pony tails...and scruffy look...
dudemantwo 3 years ago
Thanks you very much, a real treasure.
Massey207 3 years ago
This clip is awesome....Love the Wilburns.
roblettinVa 3 years ago 5