'Knoxville Girl,' the murder ballad that has resonated through centuries | Know Your Knox
Plenty of songs highlight American cities, songs that have become synonymous with the place that they celebrate. San Francisco, of course, has Tony Bennett famously leaving his heart there. There's Frank Sinatra belting out "New York, New York" and Billy Joel crooning "New York State of Mind."
Memphis? Think "Memphis in the Meantime" or "Walking in Memphis." Nashville has been memorialized in dozens of songs, from Dylan's instrumental "Nashville Skyline Rag" to Jason & the Scorchers' cowpunk "Greetings from Nashville," along with plenty of odes about trying to make it in the Music City ("Nashville Bum" is my favorite).
But Knoxville? Well, pretty much only one song is strongly associated with the Scruffy City. And perhaps in keeping with Knoxville's under-the-radar appeal, "Knoxville Girl" is a murder ballad − a traditional song dealing with a gruesome death at the hands of another.
What happens to the 'Knoxville Girl'?
While there are variations in the lyrics to some versions of "Knoxville Girl," the song details the murder of a girl with "golden curls."
The villain in the ballad spends every Sunday evening in her home. They go for a walk one of those Sundays and he knocks her down with a stick and then beats her to death despite her pleas for mercy. The man throws her body in the river with the only motive being, perhaps, that she expects him to marry her.
The murderer returns home and tells his mother the blood on his clothes came from his nose. But he is plagued with visions of hell and ends up jailed for the crime.
Is 'Knoxville Girl' based on a true story?
The short answer is: Yes, but not exactly.
British journalist Paul Slade, who has published a guide to murder ballads, wrote a deep dive into "Knoxville Girl" that can be found on his website. Slade traces back the story to 1683, when a pregnant woman living in England was killed by her lover, a miller. A ballad about that murder, "The Bloody Miller," was published in 1685. Another version, "The Berkshire Tragedy," was published in 1744, with all the key elements in place, including the nosebleed excuse.
The first proven American original is "The Lexington Miller," printed as an early 19th century broadsheet in Boston, Slade says. But Slade also ties the modern version of the murder ballad to the death of Mary Lula Noel in Missouri in 1892.
Noel was killed by William Simmons in a very similar fashion to the ballad, Slade says, adding he thinks her murder gave the killer in "Knoxville Girl" his modern name.
"Arthur Tanner's 1925 record has the line 'Willie dear, don't kill me here/I'm not prepared to die,' and that's the name that's stuck ever since," Slade wrote. He also notes that a 1917 version is the first known instance using Knoxville as the town.
Recordings of 'Knoxville Girl' include Lemonheads, Louvin Brothers
"Knoxville Girl" has been covered dozens of times since the first known recording in 1924, with nearly every version over that 100-year period hewing closely to the original.
In 1956, the Louvin Brothers released what is perhaps the most best-known recording of the song on their "Tragic Songs of Life" album. "Knoxville Girl" was released as a single three years later and reached No. 19 on the Billboard Country Singles chart. The Wilburn Brothers' version released in 1959 reached No. 18 on the country charts.
Secondhand Songs has documented 98 versions, starting with Tanner's 1925 recording all the way through a 2022 version by Finnish rockabilly band Hi-Fly Rangers. (Check out this live video, which feels like you're in the middle of an Aki Kaurismäki’ film).
Other versions of note include King of Rockabilly Charlie Feathers' 1973 recording and Charlie Louvin's re-recording of the classic with Bonnie Prince Billy in 2007. Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds recorded a version in 1996, as did The Lemonheads and BR5-49.
Six degrees of 'Knoxville Girl'
And, last but not least in my heart, some random Knoxville connections to the song about Knoxville:
Elvis Costello has played "Knoxville Girl" twice in Knoxville, at the Tennessee Theatre in 2005 and 2008. He has also performed it live in Atlanta and London.
I found two Knoxville band recordings of the song: The Scruffy City All-Stars featuring Cruz Contreras and Todd Gladson performing "Knoxville Girl" at Scruffy City Roots live in 2012, and Blackgrass' version from 2004.
A historical marker for the Louvin Brothers' "Knoxville Girl," part of the Cradle of Country Music Tour, is at the intersection of Gay Street and Main Avenue.
Know Your Knox answers your burning questions about life in Knoxville. Want your question answered? Email knowyourknox@knoxnews.com.
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Just how many people visited downtown in 2023? And of that number, how many were locals or visitors from outside the city or outside the state? Ryan Wilusz shares a total number for the year that might or might not surprise you (depending on how long you've found yourself looking for a parking spot for the farmers market on a Vols game day!), and how such specific data was collected.
This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: 'Knoxville Girl' murder ballad has roots in 17th century crime
