Murder ballad

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Murder ballad
Fause Foodrage from The Book of British ballads (1842)
Stylistic origins	Ballad
Cultural origins	England, lowland Scotland, Scandinavia, Iceland, Faroe Islands, Germany, in the middle ages, and Ireland

Murder ballads are a subgenre of the traditional ballad form dealing with a crime or a gruesome death. Their lyrics form a narrative describing the events of a murder, often including the lead-up and/or aftermath. The term refers to the content, and may be applied to traditional ballads, part of oral culture.