Song Lyrics That Would Get Artists Arrested in Real Life

Art is a form of expression, and for some musicians, that means expressing some fantasies or desires that might even get them arrested in real life.

For example, Carrie Underwood’s rampage against her cheating ex in “Before He Cheats” has been a cathartic anthem for fans since 2005.

Unfortunately, you can’t actually key someone’s car, carve your name into their leather seats or smash their headlights with a baseball bat without legal consequence—but it’s fun to pretend!

Elsewhere, some pop songs tell fictional stories of murder, such as Rihanna’s “Man Down” or Natalia Kills’ aptly titled “Kill My Boyfriend.”

READ MORE: The 20 Best Country Songs About Killing Your Man

And you can’t go wrong with a good ol’ country murder ballad with a sprinkle of feminine rage.

That’s why “Goodbye Earl” by The Chicks is a classic, even finding success with people who may not listen to country music.

Below, find out more about these songs and more, as well as their IRL criminal implications.

“Before He Cheats,” Carrie Underwood

Carrie Underwood goes all out in the name of revenge on her most iconic single, 2005’s “Before He Cheats.” The country star teaches her unfaithful boyfriend a lesson by vandalizing his “pretty little souped up four-wheel drive” truck. She acts out the fantasy of every person who has ever been cheated on by keying the sides of the truck, carving her name into the leather seats and taking “a Louisville Slugger to both headlights.” While satisfying, if someone attempted to replicate this cathartic lyrical takedown IRL, they’d probably end up in some seriously hot water for property damage.

“Kill Bill,” SZA

Grammy-nominated “Kill Bill” is a standout track off SZA’s 2022 album SOS. The poetic, dark lyrics paint a hypnotizing murder ballad as SZA sings she “might kill my ex.” She goes on to imply that she will kill his new girlfriend, too, singing, “Not the best idea / His new girlfriend’s next, how’d I get here? / I might kill my ex, I still love him though / Rather be in jail than alone.” Elsewhere in the song she sings about planning a “home invasion” and threatens, “I’m gon’ kill your ass tonight,” before doing the deed in the last chorus of the track, when the lyrics become “I just killed my ex.” Another murder immortalized in song, but thankfully not IRL.

“Goodbye Earl,” The Chicks

As the pinnacle example of the feminine rage country murder song, 1999’s “Goodbye Earl” by The Chicks is a campy country classic. Things seem to start out cheery with small town besties Mary Anne and Wanda, but quickly the song arrives at murder as the two plan to take out Wanda’s abusive ex-husband, Earl, with the catchy, screamable lyric “Earl had to die!” The ladies poison his black-eyed peas and roll him up in tarp in the chorus before dumping the body in the lake in the music video. The duo then begin selling jam at a roadside stand, and they live happily ever after, avoiding murder charges.

“Kill My Boyfriend,” Natalia Kills

On this 2011 Natalia Kills track, the singer wrestles between her current boyfriend and her ex-lover, who wants her back. Instead of dumping her new guy, she plans to commit murder to reunite with her ex. “I’m rolling the dice, got the wind in my hair / I’m gonna kill my boyfriend, yeah,” she sings. She continues to plan out the crime as the song goes on, singing, “Kill, kill, kill, I’m gonna, kill, kill, kill / So we can run away just like we said / Kill, kill, kill, I’m gonna, kill, kill, kill / So we can be together like we planned.”

“Gang Bang,” Madonna

Madonna’s 2012 MDNA song is a dark pop banger that bluntly describes the singer killing her lover. “Bang bang, shot you dead, shot my lover in the head,” she sings, adding that she has “no regrets.” And, if you didn’t get the point the first time, she reiterates on the bridge, “If I see the b—h in hell / I’m gonna shoot him in the head again.” The song was fittingly inspired by director Quentin Tarantino. It’s a good thing it’s all fake, because the lyrics are a blatant murder confession.

“Sweet but Psycho,” Ava Max

Ava Max’s 2020 earworm describes a lot of things that make the protagonist of the song “sweet but a psycho,” but one lyric in particular would be totally illegal in real life when she sings that she’s “grab-a-cop-gun kinda crazy.” Later in the chorus, Max repeatedly sings that people say “run, don’t walk away” from her because she’s so “psycho.” If someone really did grab a cop’s gun, they could get up to 20 years in prison for disarming a police officer.

“Man Down,” Rihanna

On the reggae-inspired “Man Down,” Rihanna expresses her anguish over killing a man (not literally, of course). “I didn’t mean to end his life, I know it wasn’t right / I can’t even sleep at night, can’t get it off my mind,” she sings. She goes on to reveal that she pulled out a gun and shot him in the middle of Central Station. “Oh, mama, mama, mama, I just shot a man down,” she sings. Throughout the song, Rihanna sings from the perspective of a fugitive running from murder charges. The song was inspired by Bob Marley’s “I Shot the Sheriff.”

“If You Go Down (I’m Goin’ Down Too),” Kelsea Ballerini

Kelsea Ballerini’s 2022 song “If You Go Down” takes inspiration from previous murderous country bops with campy music videos, such as “Goodbye Earl.” The song alludes to lots of illegal activity in the name of protecting your best friend, such as providing an alibi after committing a crime, getting rid of evidence and showing up with a getaway car just in case you rob a bank. And of course, if Kelsea’s bestie “hypothetically” killed their husband, she’d be “lyin’ through her teeth.” If any of this happened in real life, you’d probably rack up a bunch of charges ranging from tampering with evidence to aiding and abetting.