"Stagger Lee"
E477221
"Stagger Lee" is a traditional American folk ballad about the outlaw Stagolee that has been reinterpreted across blues, folk, and rock music, including a dark, violent rendition by Nick Cave.
Observed surface forms (2)
| Surface form | Occurrences |
|---|---|
| Stagger Lee | 1 |
| Stagger Lee (Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds song) | 0 |
Statements (53)
| Predicate | Object |
|---|---|
| instanceOf |
American folk song
ⓘ
murder ballad ⓘ song ⓘ traditional American folk ballad ⓘ |
| album | Murder Ballads NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| basedOn |
killing of Billy Lyons by Lee Shelton
ⓘ
traditional ballad Stagger Lee ⓘ |
| collectedIn | American folk song anthologies ⓘ |
| countryOfOrigin |
United States of America
ⓘ
surface form:
United States
|
| firstKnownPublicationForm | song sheet ⓘ |
| firstKnownPublicationYear | 1911 ⓘ |
| genre |
alternative rock
ⓘ
blues ⓘ folk ⓘ murder ballad ⓘ rock ⓘ |
| hasCharacter |
Billy Lyons
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
Stagolee NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| hasCharacterRole |
Billy Lyons is the victim
ⓘ
Stagolee is an outlaw ⓘ |
| hasCulturalStatus |
American folk standard
ⓘ
blues standard ⓘ |
| hasMainCharacter | Stagolee NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| hasNickCaveVersion | Stagger Lee (Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds song) NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| hasNotableRecording |
Dr. John version
ⓘ
Fats Domino version ⓘ Lloyd Price version ⓘ Mississippi John Hurt version ⓘ Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds version ⓘ Samuel L. Jackson film performance version ⓘ Taj Mahal version ⓘ The Clash live version ⓘ The Grateful Dead version ⓘ Wilson Pickett version ⓘ |
| hasVariantSpelling |
Stack-O-Lee
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
Stackerlee NERFINISHED ⓘ Stagolee NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| influencedGenre |
country blues
ⓘ
rhythm and blues ⓘ rock and roll ⓘ |
| language | English ⓘ |
| performer | Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| releaseYear | 1996 ⓘ |
| settingLocation | St. Louis, Missouri NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| subjectOfStudy |
African American studies
ⓘ
American folklore scholarship ⓘ popular music studies ⓘ |
| theme |
crime
ⓘ
gambling dispute ⓘ outlaw mythology ⓘ violence ⓘ |
| tone |
dark
ⓘ
violent ⓘ |
Referenced by (2)
Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.