[Content Warning screen read by 
Andreas]
Andri, moody and broody: "Death"
"the only constant threat that 
looms over us"
"in the misery we call life."
"Every time I walk by the 
graveyard,"
"I’m reminded of my mortality"
"and how insignificant we are in
this world."
"My mind can only ask so many questions 
before the dread sets in."
"Do we only find salvation 
through invented purpose"
"leading us to the righteous 
path?"
"Maybe our mortality has no 
meaning?"
"Maybe we’re just drifting until
the next moment kicks in?"
"But most importantly,"
"why do I have so many skulls?"
"I should probably get a more 
cheerful hobby."
[How to make Murderfolk Intro 
Song]
Murderfolk, the genre, not the 
instructions.
Is Folk music with dark themes.
The genre is essentially just 
Country or Bluegrass
but with a much darker sense of 
humour.
making references to serial 
killers,
death, and just generally 
depressing stuff.
So instead of this:
[Cheerufl guitar chord]
“This song is about beer, 
tractors and good  old american 
values!”
Martin. "I play the shotgun!"
[click and Goose]
Instead, it's this:
[Depressing guitar chord]
“This song is about running over my wife 
with a tractor cause she cheated on me,
the fuck Karen"
Imagine a jug band got depressed
and started watching Serial 
killer documentaries.
Or your local country singer 
started binging alcohol and netflix
while writing a song about his 
dead wife.
Andri: "Get naked!"
[TV dies]
Murderfolk is only one of many genres 
under the Gothic Americana umbrella.
With colourful names as 
Darkfolk, Southern Gothic and Deathgrass.
[Detective Andreas is on the 
case]
[Goose 2, the revenge]
[Inhale]
"These fuckers are up to 
something."
The genre’s roots and name can 
be traced to Amigo The Devil,
a Bluegrass musician with a 
gallows sense of humour.
Amigo The Devil originally 
wanted to make horror movies
and jumped back and forth 
between different metal and hardcore bands.
But eventually decided to work 
in the brewery industry.
"I mean, look at this guy!"
"Kinda obvious sin't it?"
"HAEH!"
"What a hipster!"
*Silent gulps*
But one day,
he picked up his banjo and wrote
down ‘Perfect Wife’
a Song about spousal abuse and 
dark comedy.
The song gained a massive 
following on Myspace,
also known as ye olde facebook.
[Curious contract]
*paper plonk*
[Goose 3, Dream Warriors]
But he focused on his brewing 
degree on the side.
Like some loser who wants a 
secure job
and doesn’t believe in his 
dreams.
But after recording the EP 
Manimals,
it sold over 2,000 copies
without any aid from a publisher
or advertising.
So he left making beer named 
after serial killers behind
and instead made songs based on 
serial killers.
Man, this guy knows his 
branding.
But of course, he’s not the only
one.
There’s my other personal 
favourite Harley Poe,
who writes songs about morbid 
characters,
murder and occultism.
The style is more reminiscent of
A Folk Punk version of a Horror 
Punk band
but he deserve a mentions for 
his ‘Satan, sex and no regret’ 
album.
Another one is The Bridge City 
Sinners,
really fun Deathgrass band and 
their music is fast,
aggressive, and their lyrics 
about witchcraft and
KREATHER, KING OF THE RATS
which makes them a great third 
starting point.
Some of the songs even have that
Black Metal feel,
but unlike black metal, it's 
good.
[Aggresive Pick]
[Goose 4, The Last CHapter]
Other artists that fit under the
Murderfolk umbrella would be
16 Horsepower, Slim Cessna, 
those poor bastards,
and many, many, many more.
Link to the playlist down below.
"Enugh yappin'"
[Goose 5, New Blood]
"Let's get murderin'"
[Murderfolk Transition song 1]
[Fun fact; I forgot to record 
this with my good microphone]
Well howdy there partner!
Do you have an acoustic guitar 
or a banjo?
Can you play anything in the 
minor scale?
Can you dress like a gothic 
cowboy?
or a depressed truckstop driver?
If you can do 2 out of 3, then 
congratulations,
you can become a Murderfolk 
singer!
You can also add some extra 
instruments like an organ,
double bass, drums, violin, 
harmonica or
whatever junk you can find in 
your garage
to add to your song to make it 
more EVIL Country.
[Lack of woosh SFX]
*Shotgun bass*
"Am Threatening"
You can also do something 
similar like Harley Poe or Amigo
the Devil
where a song can work with only 
1 instrument.
In fact, Amigo the Devil usually
just plays with his banjo or guitar alone live.
With the Banjo and the Guitar,
combining chords and broken 
chords is a great way to structure a song.
You can also do some fingerstyle
playing
to get a sort of ragtime style 
like in Perfect Wife.
[Poorly recorded example]
Your songs should be in that 
typical ABABCA structure,
but feel free to change it in a 
way so you can take a whiskey shot in between verses.
"But we at Pagefire already know
you can write a sad cowboy 
song,"
"trust me,"
"we're watching."
[Goose 6, Fresh Blood]
So let's focus on the lyrics,
"Another way of expressing your 
pain and torture"
Here are some common themes 
found in the Murderfolk genre.
Murder, Abuse, Depression, Drugs, 
Double Parking,
Alcoholism, Serial Killers, Mail fraud and the occult.
"Don't forget Murder! It's very 
important."
"Speaking of mail fraud,"
"WHERE'S MY FUCKING MAIL?"
[Attack of the killer wallet]
[Goose 8, Revengance]
Let’s go through one by one
so you can find the right topic 
to pull out the lyrics out of your mind!
But speaking of minds,
Know what's on my mind?
MURDER!
*Kids chearing for murder*
Do you even get the urge 
to take someone’s life?
Well, you should see a 
psychiatrist about that!
But if you can’t afford that,
How about expressing yourself 
through a song!
[Guitar full of emotion]
That way no one gets hurt.
[Motorhead intensified]
[Andreas gets hurt]
"Ow!"
"Pagefire lied to me... again!"
>:(
If you don't have a violence 
streak,
you can probably make something 
up.
Maybe just watch some horror 
movies until the inspiration strikes right.
Or binge Slasher franchises til 
you pass out.
[Freddy surprise]
"This movie doesn't make any 
sense"
"It's the 21st century, children
don't dream."
Abuse
Those songs are usually treated 
with a lot more weight
since it’s something we all may 
experience
or know someone who’s been in 
that situation.
If you’ve had an abusive asshat 
that stirs your emotions,
then you can use that rage to 
fuel your songwriting.
Either confrontational
[B A P]
or just a song where you display
the abuser in the correct light.
"What are the abusers gonna do?"
"complain?"
"Bold words for someone in 
songwriting range."
[Goose 9, Revelation]
Depression
Alot of us has been there.
The world is unfair, cruel and 
full of assholes who steal mail.
Finally you can fuel your 
burning hatred within.
Drugs
What’s your addiction?
Mine’s coke...
...A COLA!
[Manic laughter]
I’m ADDICTED AND MY TEETH ARE 
ALL ROTTING AWAY!
"BOOM, That's one way to beat an
addition"
But for the few of you that have
used drugs,
maybe channel in your feelings 
on how the drugs made you feel.
How you kicked the addiction
or how the addiction slowly 
ruined your social life.
"Or maybe there’s another 
angle?"
"I don't know, I’ve never even 
seen a drug before."
"HEY KID, You wanna have a good 
time?"
"I WANT DRUGS, NOT A GOOD TIME!"
[Frustrated dealer]
[Goose 10, Feel Good Inc]
ALCOHOLISM!
There’s no Jesus at the bottom 
of the bottle,
but there might be a good song 
down there.
[Nickelback Intenisfied]
"Don't drink and write!"
Not saying songs about 
alcoholism is bad,
It's just that a lot of songs 
loves to glorify beer and alcohol,
So Murderfolk should be 
something that can help
you spotlight the darker side or
alcoholism.
MURDERERS!
Is there a Serial Killer that 
you really fancy
like Dahmer, Gein, Bundy, Gacy 
or Barney the dinosaur?
well, a lot of others people have!
But despite being talked about 
for   decades,
these killers still inspire fear
and music,
both in and outside of 
Murderfolk.
But don’t just pick from the 
usual suspects,
if you read a story about a 
killer with a unique background
and isn’t widely talked about,
then there might be a song 
hidden within that story.
"Like the Oslo Face Carver,"
"who carves off people's faces"
"and some say he's stil lat 
large"
[Goose 11, Big Beak Massacre]
Sidenote:
please don’t glorify Serial 
Killers like they’re movie stars or celebrity crushes.
Keep in mind that they are 
horrible people
who did horrible things to REAL 
PEOPLE,
so the healthiest way to talk 
about them
(at least for me)
is use them as an example
on how our modern society 
handles mental health and medicine,
or my favourite:
roast the fuck out of them!
"John Wayne Gacy, A.k.a. Pogo 
the Clown,"
"Your make-up is as good as your
jokes,"
"Needs work!"
[OOOHHHH]
"Jeffrey Dahmer,"
"'You are what you eat' they 
say?"
"But I don't remember you eating
a fucking nerd!"
[Outdated meme horns]
"Ted Bundy!"
"Trying to be a lawyer, eh?"
"Maybre don't take advice from 
Bean Shapiro's debate club!"
"Let's say for the sake of 
arguement,"
"That there were a lot of 
murders in my neighbourhood."
"Why didn't they just sell their
houses and move?"
[Republican rambling] Judge: 
"Mr. Bundy"
"What does this have to do with 
your OWN trial?"
[Ramble Damble]
The Occult!
Witches, Paganism, Satanism,
Rituals and slumber parties.
All gatherings for a wicked 
Murderfolk rave!
Been in a cult? Sing about that!
Have a favourite cult? Sing 
about that!
Like a religious cult that lies 
and manipulates their members
until it slowly evolves into a 
brainwashed community
leading to mass suicide?
I don’t know about you,
but all parties I go to are 
killer.
[Jesus is a friend plays in the distance] 
"Welcome to Bible bashing,"
"we’re all children of Jim Jones!”
[Jesus is not a friend of 
Martin]
[Andri chants while the killers kill]
[Murder and jesus intensified]
Now just pick any of these 
topics
and go wild with your 
songwriting.
Your limits will be your own 
creativity.
[Lack of creativity intensifies]
"Shit"
[Goose agrees]
When it comes to writing the lyrics,
I’d use either just pen and 
paper, phone app
or whatever you can write your 
lyrics in.
[Smokin' Writin']
"Aw shit, I missspelled waif"
[Goose laughs]
I’d also use some music notation
program
so you can easily share and jam 
with friends.
"I call my program duck tape!"
[:D]
[Prisoner is escaping]
[Prisoner has escaped!]
"Damn anti-virus!"
[Goose recomend upgrading rto 
real duck tape]
[Transition jammer]
Now that we’re indulged our 
darker senses,
it’s time to record a song.
YEEHAAW
Set your bpm and tracks to 
somewhere between 90 and 140,
but if your song needs some 
extra speed,
feel free to go above.
[Country Blast beat blasting 
off]
"Has someone invented Blastgrass
Death yet?”
Always start with the 
instruments,
then move on with the vocals.
It’s easier when you have a 
musical foundation to lay down vocals over.
After you’ve laid down the 
vocals,
record your percussion, bass, 
washboard and such.
I’d say the simpler the better,
so be careful with how much you 
add.
And that’s it,
It can't get more complicated 
than that.
For lyrics, I decided to write 
about my favourite serial killer,
Ed Gein.
Yeah, not the most original 
choice,
but one day I came up with a 
really cool chorus thing
and the inspiration just slowly 
came to me.
One thing that helps with 
songwriting
is to have some sort of word 
chart or flowchart
with keywords or sentences you 
want to add into your song.
For example, I wanted to mention
that Gein would rob graves,
so that became part of the 
pre-chorus and chorus.
Before you know it,
you’ll have a pretty rad ballad 
with some neat lyrics.
It also helps to also play along
and find chords
so you can adjust the words to 
the beat and melody.
[Andreas jump scare] "Wait a 
minute!"
"Andri would never give genuine 
advice!"
[Andri scoots away and howls 
like a demon]
"God dammit Dagon!"
Now your song is ready,
So just find a depressing place 
to film
and create the most sombre music
video you can muster!
"And remember everyone! Use the 
*snap* Cowboy Filter!"
[Deviant- Andri from Pagefire]
[BONUS GOOSE]
CCONGRATULATIONS!
You just celebrated that the 
world is just full of cruelty
that punishes more than rewards.
We’re not special, just a bunch 
of cockroaches staring at a 
screen,
waiting for the next moment to 
pass us by.
But why do we go forward?
even when we know the end is 
coming?
We don’t know if theres an 
afterlife,
we only know that firstly;
there is only pain and death.
The second is that you should
SUBSCRIBE AND DONATE TO OUR 
PATREON!
[Mouthed] "What?"
THE END!
[Jugulate Stomp - Andri from 
Pagefire]
"Dew Yew haev the roight toime 
olde man?"
[Jugulated stomped]
NØ
