# Is ‘The Cruel Mother’ the darkest folk song ever made?

- URL: https://talkfuse.com/story/is-the-cruel-mother-the-darkest-folk-song-ever-made/
- Published: 2026-10-26T19:00:00+00:00
- Updated: 2026-10-26T19:36:07+00:00
- Original publisher: Far Out
- Original article: https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/is-the-cruel-mother-the-darkest-folk-song-ever-made/

## Key points

- A woman’s crime returns to haunt her in a centuries-old ballad.
- The song’s printed history reaches back to 1638.
- Its story reflects the unequal blame placed on women.

## Summary

‘The Cruel Mother’ is a centuries-old folk ballad about an unmarried woman who kills her newborn twins to hide her shame, then encounters their ghosts and is confronted with her guilt. Its enduring power comes from combining a supernatural tale of remorse with the social pressures and unequal blame faced by women.

Broadsheet versions date back to 1638, and the article traces the song through performers including Cecilia Costello, Shirley Collins, Anne Briggs and Nancy Kerr. It notes that a 1624 law made concealing the death of an illegitimate child punishable by hanging, while fathers faced no equivalent accountability. The song may not be folk music’s bloodiest, but its mix of murder, haunting and tenderness makes it especially unsettling.

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Summarised by TalkFuse (https://talkfuse.com/). Quote the original publisher for the reporting and link this page for the summary and discussion.