I visited the local record shop in El Cerrito, "Down Home Music," and spoke to the fellow behind the counter asking him if anyone had any knowledge of the "murder ballads," as I was hoping to find a scholar or two in this great little store. We spoke for a bit about the songs and I mentioned "Long Black Veil," I guess implying, in my opinion, it fit the "genre," and he quickly frowned and said, "but that was composed." I said, "Well yes, but some of those lyrics were surely "borrowed," and he quickly walked away not wanting to talk any longer.
I'm hoping to gather stories, opinions and any relevant articles on the origins of not only the tunes, but the reasons the tunes have always been so popular. One might think that in this day and age this sort of lyric would be offensive, but clearly, even young female writers are charting hits with these lyrics.