Knives and Honey

On country murder ballads, art as catharsis, and letting my imagination surprise me.

TW for explicit mention of domestic violence and murder as revenge in country songs.

I’m sharing something very different this week. It’s another song that can be read as a poem, but it is definitely a song. And it’s well…different, darker subject matter than we’ve covered before.

‘Knives and Honey’ is my spin on “Cell Block Tango” meets “Two Black Cadillacs” meets “Gunpowder and Lead” meets “Goodbye Earl” with a little bit of “No Body No Crime.” It’s like "Before He Cheats", but we’re doing more than just wrecking his car.

Because so much has changed in the world since I wrote this, I feel the need to say this. I was a huge, huge Carrie Underwood fan BEFORE she sang at the 2025 inauguration. There is not a single word to express how disappointed I am in her. While I no longer listen to her music, the songs I mention here did inspire this one - and I can’t rewrite history. But I CAN make my stance known because Lord knows the last thing I am ever going to be taken for is a Trumper.

If you’re unfamiliar with all of those songs, they are all classic country murder ballads (with the exception of “Cell Block Tango”) about husbands being murdered by their wives and/or their wives’ friends.

Told you things were going to be a little different today.

I wrote the song below pretty quickly, when I was a little under the weather a few months ago, making my classic go-to remedy: boiling water, fresh lemons, honey, and some apple cider vinegar. The sink was literally full of spoons and knives, and I let my imagination run wild. This is the result!

I’ll let the piece speak for itself - but I will say, writing this and having the courage to share it with all of you is the definition of wild cozy free. Will everyone judge me? Will they think I’m crazy? Will people think this is autobiographical? Will they think I’m unhinged?

It’s scary to show a different side of yourself, and delve into an unexpected topic. But the best thing about creativity is the unexpected, to me; when your mind roams in a totally new direction. Sometimes you have to just go along for the ride, and be open to surprising yourself.

Maybe one day I’ll write more about the inspiration for the emotion behind this song, and why it was so satisfying to write. But for now, I’ll just leave you with ‘Knives and Honey.’ (Click on the article voiceover at the top of the screen to listen to it as a song!)

And for anyone who needs to hear it, this is purely a work of FICTION!

*Two Black Cadillacs, by Carrie Underwood, as referenced above.

And the preacher said he was a good man

And his brother said he was a good friend

But the women in the two black veils didn’t bother to cry

My sink is full of spoons and knives

From making tea

I’ve been slicing lemons

But it looks like a murder scene

They might think I’m delicate

Sweeter than honey

But what I will do next

Remains a mystery