The Murder of Omie Wise

[stanrivers]

https://historyofyesterday.com/the-murder-of-omie-wise-ce15167bed73?gi=53ebf69365f4

[mthoms]

The band Okkervil River does a good cover of Omie Wise if there’s any indie rock fans out there.

I knew the song had traditional roots but didn’t know the backstory so I was delighted to read this.

Another good murder (spree) ballad is Black River Killer by Blitzen Trapper.

[a_e_k]

Funny, I was just thinking about murder ballads earlier today. I enjoy British folk rock (especially Steeleye Span) and murder ballads are pretty common there.

I think my favorite version of the "Omie Wise" song is by Pentangle: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TPLBJi3foKE.

My favorite song of theirs, "Cruel Sister" is also a murder ballad, also with drowning, albeit with fantastical elements: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Wf8W45l8k8

[stanrivers]

Love this story; random how we can know so much about a random set of people from so long ago