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(#9) 'Dead Man' By Pearl Jam
The Lyrics:
Every lift of my hand
Coffee cup and back
Is magnified by the things I've done
The things I've seen
The things I've caused
I'm a dead man walking
The hammer that I once brung down now hovers over me
Cast a shadow across, onto me
The Story: "Dead Man" seems to be sung from the perspective of an inmate facing capital punishment who laments the fact that he is confronted by the hammer he "once brung down."
Pearl Jam's Eddie Vedder is, in fact, an anti-capital punishment advocate, and he performed at a 1998 benefit, "Not In Our Name: Dead Man Walking - The Concert," which raised funds to fight against capital punishment. Vedder recorded another anti-capital punishment song, "The Long Road," with Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan for the 1995 film Dead Man Walking.
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(#15) 'Execution Day' By Meat Loaf
The Lyrics:
Voices like locusts keep smothering me
Twisting and turning my senses like a cyclone at sea
Don't touch me now, won't let you crucify me
You ain't no damn jury, you can't pass no sentence on me
The Story: Rock legend Dick Wagner wrote "Execution Day" for Meat Loaf, which was released on his 1986 album Blind Before I Stop. The track is sung from the perspective of a condemned man who laments his impending demise. He uses biblical imagery to accuse his executioners of crucifying him, and passing a sentence they have no right to.
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(#5) Let Him Dangle
- Elvis Costello
The Lyrics:
Well it's hard to imagine it's the times that have changed
When there's a murder in the kitchen that is brutal and strange
If killing anybody is a terrible crime
Why does this bloodthirsty chorus come round from time to time
Let him dangle
The Story: Elvis Costello wrote "Let Him Dangle" in response to 19-year-old Derek Bentley's trial and ultimate demise as a result of his 1952 crime.
Bentley suffered from epilepsy and reportedly had an IQ of only 66. He and another teen, Chris Craig, were attempting to rob a warehouse when police caught them. According to police accounts, Bentley yelled, "Let him have it, Chris," and Craig subsequently fired at the officers, wounding one and ending another. Later, Bentley denied saying these words, but both Bentley and Craig were convicted.
Craig, who was only 16 at the time of the misdeed and therefore too young to receive a capital sentence, was eventually released from prison. Bentley was hanged in 1953 despite public protests. In 1993, Bentley received a posthumous pardon.
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(#6) 'Walking Down Death Row' By Pete Seeger
The Lyrics:
Singing down death row
To each separate human cell - one billion, two, or three
If you'd only stick together, you'd not be here
If you could love another's child
If you could love another's life like your own, you'd not be here
And if only this you could believe
You still might, you might still be reprieved
The Story: Pete Seeger was a well-known civil rights activist throughout much of his life. He adapted the song that became the civil rights movement's anthem, "We Shall Overcome." But Seeger has a couple of challenging folk ballads up his sleeve, including 1966's "Walking Down Death Row."
The song follows a singer who, while walking down death row, laments what has happened to the prisoners but also tries to offer a message of hope.
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(#7) 16 on Death Row
- Tupac Shakur
The Lyrics:
Bye bye, and I got no place to go
Where you find me? 16 on Death Row
Dear mama, they sentenced me to death
Today's my final day, I'm countin' every breath
The Story: Tupac "2Pac" Shakur's "16 On Death Row" was released posthumously as part of the album R U Still Down? which featured a great deal of the late rapper's work left behind after his untimely demise. His mother released the album in 1997.
"16 On Death Row" warns kids what can happen as a result of "glamorous young thugs living the high life in a mean world that they'll never admit to their part in making," as described by Rolling Stone. 2Pac's lyrics caution that the narrator "turned to a life of crime" because he came from "a broken family," telling the sorrowful tale of a teen wrecked by unfair circumstances.
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(#4) Gallows Pole
- Led Zeppelin
The Lyrics:
Your brother brought me silver
Your sister warmed my soul
But now I laugh and pull so hard
And see you swinging on the gallows pole
The Story: Led Zeppelin adapted their haunting song about a maiden pleading for someone to free her from the gallows pole from a traditional tune recorded by blues guitarist Leadbelly as "Gallis Pole." The earliest version of the song is centuries old and is titled "The Maid Freed from the Gallows."
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About This Tool
The death penalty has always been a hot topic in countless ballads, rock, folk tunes, and rap. Many famous music artists portray the hanging scenes in their songs that are rarely seen. From goth rocker Nick Cave to metal legends Metallica and Iron Maiden, some of them use the executioner as inspiration to create many excellent musical works.
We have collected the 15 most harrowing songs about the executioner with the random tool, such as Sing Me Back Home, Ride the Lightning. The singers and songwriters lamented such a painful demise in the song. Welcome to leave the message and share your thoughts.
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