The Murder of Omie Wise

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.

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

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