Inspiration can be found anywhere, and for some musicians, a true crime story is just what they need to spark their songwriting skills. Here are 12 songs about crime in genres ranging from alternative to rock to pop to R&B/soul.

1. “Georgia Lee” by Tom Waits

Waits was inspired after the body of Georgia Moses was found near where he lived.

On the night of August 13, 1997, 12-year-old Georgia Lee Moses was last seen alive at a gas station leaving with an unidentified man. About a week later, on August 22, 1997, decomposing remains were found off Highway 101 in Petaluma, California, and through dental records, the body was identified as Georgia Lee Moses.

The lyrics relating to the crime: “Cold was the night and hard was the ground/They found her in a small grove of trees/And lonesome was the place where Georgia was found.”

2. “Nebraska” by Bruce Springsteen

Springsteen was inspired by the murder spree of Charles Starkweather, 19, and his girlfriend, Caril Ann Fugate, 14.

On December 10, 1957, the murder spree began with the killing of Robert Colvert, a gas station attendant. A month later, on January 21, 1958, Covert shot and killed Fugate’s mother, Velda Bartlett, her stepfather, Marion Bartlett, and strangled her 2-year-old half-sister, Betty Jean. After living in the Bartlett home for 6 days, the couple drove to a farmhouse where they killed August Meyer, then hitched a ride with teen couple, Robert Jensen and Carole King, eventually killing them and stealing their car. The murderous couple soon drove to Lincoln, Nebraska, where they stayed with Lincoln’s most influential and wealthy citizens, C. Lauer and Clara Ward, and ended up killing them both, along with their maid, on January 28. On January 29, the couple murdered their last victim, shoe salesman Merle Collinson, before getting caught after a high-speed police chase. At the end of their spree, the couple took the lives of 10 people.

The lyrics relating to the crime: “Me and her went for a ride, sir/And ten innocent people died/ From the town of Lincoln, Nebraska.”

3. “Jenny Was a Friend of Mine” by the Killers

The Killers were inspired by the 1986 murder of Jennifer Levin by Robert Chambers (the Preppy Killer).

On August 26, 1986, the body of 18-year-old Jennifer Levin was found in Central Park with her bra and top pulled up and bruises all over her body, especially around her neck. She was strangled to death, and her body showed signs of self-defense. Robert Chambers, her friend from school, confessed to murdering her, only to claim he killed her by accident because she was forcing him to perform rough sex.

The lyrics relating to the crime: “We had a fight on the promenade out in the rain/She couldn't scream while I held her close/I swore I'd never let her go/Tell me what you want to know/Oh come on, oh come on, oh come on/There ain't no motive for this crime/Jenny was a friend of mine.”

4. “Suffer Little Children” by the Smiths

Steven Patrick Morrissey and Johnny Marr were inspired by the Moors Murders committed by Myra Hindley and Ian Brady.

From July 1963 to October 1965, Myra Hindley and Ian Brady murdered and sexually assaulted five children around Manchester, England. The victims were Pauline Reade, 16, John Kilbride, 12, Keith Bennett, 12, Lesley Ann Downey, 10, and Edward Evans, 17. All bodies were located except for 12-year-old Keith Bennett’s body, which was never recovered.

The lyrics relating to the crime: “Edward, see those alluring lights?/Tonight will be your very last night/A woman said: "I know my son is dead"/ "I'll never rest my hands on his sacred head."

5. “I Just Shot John Lennon” by the Cranberries

Dolores O'Riordan was inspired by a statement made by the Beatle killer himself.

On December 8, 1980, Mark David Chapman fatally shot and killed John Lennon. After killing Lennon, he was asked, “Do you know what you’ve done?” Chapman replied, “I just shot John Lennon.”

The lyrics relating to the crime: “With a Smith and Wesson, 38th/ John Lennon's life was no longer a debate/ He should have stayed at home, he should have never cared/ And the man who took his life declared, he said/"I just shot John Lennon."

6. “Midnight Rambler” by the Rolling Stones

Keith Richards and Mick Jagger’s sixth song on their Let It Bleed album was loosely based on the Boston Strangler, Albert DeSalvo.

From June 1962 to January 1964, Albert DeSalvo murdered and raped 13 women all over Boston. All the victims were women. All died from strangulation. All were murdered in their homes. On June 14, 1962, the Boston Strangler killed his first victim, Anna Slesser. On June 28, 1962, he killed Mary Mullen, 85, and two days later, Nina Nichols, 68, was also found dead. The same day Nichols was found, a second body was found, 65-year-old Helen Blake. On August 19, Ida Irga, 75, was found dead in her home, and later, the body of Jane Sullivan, 65, was discovered. On December 5, 1962, the body of Sophie Clark, 21, was found. Then, pregnant 23-year-old Patricia Bissette was found murdered and sexually assaulted. Mary Brow, 68, Beverly Samans, 23, Evelyn Corbin, 58, Joan Graff, 23, were also found days later. The last known victim of the Boston Strangler was Mary Sullivan, who was found by her roommates.

The lyrics relating to the crime: “Well, you heard about the Boston…The one that closed the bedroom door/I'm called the hit-and-run raper in anger/The knife-sharpened tippie-toe.”

7. “Let Him Dangle” by Elvis Costello

Costello was inspired to tell the story of Derek Bentley, who was executed by hanging.

On January 28, 1953, 19-year-old Derek William Bentley was hanged after being sentenced to death for the killing of Police Constable Sidney George Miles during a burglary gone wrong on November 2. On the night of the burglary in Croydon, Surrey, Bentley, and his friend Christopher Craig were armed. Bentley was armed with a knife and a knuckle-duster, but he did not use them at all that night. Craig was carrying a gun which he fired at both PC Miles— in the head— and Detective Sergeant Frederick Fairfax—in the shoulder. After getting arrested, Bentley was the only one of the two to face execution since he was over the age of 18. At trial, both were found guilty of the murder of Police Constable Miles. Bentley was sentenced to death by hanging while Craig was detained at Her Majesty’s pleasure, which ended up being 10 years. Bentley was executed based on the testimony that three officers heard Bentley tell Craig, “Let him have it,” even though they both denied that statement. In 1993, Home Secretary Michael Howard granted Bentley a partial pardon, saying Bentley should not have been hanged under the circumstances, but that he was still guilty of murder. In 1998, the Appeal Court overturned Bentley’s conviction on account that the trial judge was biased against the accused and that evidence showed that the three officers had lied under oath saying they heard “Let him have it.”

The lyrics relating to the crime: “Craig fired the pistol, but was too young to swing/So the police took Bentley and the very next thing/Let him dangle.”

8. “Skinned” by Blind Melon

Shannon Hoon was inspired after reading a book about serial killers that included the “Butcher of Plainfield,” Ed Gein.

In November 1957, Ed Gein kidnapped Bernice Worden, a local hardware store owner. Upon investigation, police were able to reveal that her last customer was Ed Gein. Following protocol, authorities went to his farmhouse, and inside they found Worden in the kitchen, dead, decapitated, and hung by her ankles. Inside the home, there were bones, skulls, homemade kitchen utensils from bones, and home items made from human skin. Amongst those items were: chairs, a wastebasket, leggings, masks made from human faces, a belt made out of nipples, a window shade drawstring made from a pair of lips, a corset from a female torso, and a lampshade from a human face. Dismembered body parts were found around the home. Amidst those body parts, the remains of a woman who had gone missing in 1954, Mary Hogan, were found. In an interview, Gein confessed that he collected bodily remains from three graveyards, and that he focused on bodies that resembled his mother. His goal was to “become” his mother and wear her skin. The “Butcher of Plainfield” inspired horror films like The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and The Silence of the Lambs.

The lyrics relating to the crime: “I'll make a lampshade of durable skin…When will I realize that this skin I'm in? Hey, it isn't mine/ And when will the kill be too much meat for me to hide on?”

9. “Four Walls (The Ballad Of Perry Smith)” by Bastille

Dan Smith was inspired after reading about Perry Smith and his part in the deaths of the Clutter family, in the book In Cold Blood by Truman Capote.

After meeting in Kansas State Prison, Perry Smith and Richard Hickock planned to rob the Clutter’s house after learning there was a safe in the house with $10,000. On November 15, 1959, they murdered the entire family in Holcomb, Kansas after discovering there was no safe. The pair were later captured on December 30, 1959, in Las Vegas after an extensive search. Smith confessed to Herbert Clutter’s throat laceration and shooting Herbert and Kenyon Clutter in the head. In the trial record, there was uncertainty as to who murdered Bonnie and Nancy Clutter. After the trial, Perry Smith and Richard Hickock were sentenced to death by hanging on April 14, 1965.

The lyrics relating to the crime: “We could be born to anything and now, and now/What you have done is terrible/And now you, and now you/ Now you carry it with you.”

10. “Cassie” by Flyleaf

The band Flyleaf was inspired by Cassie Bernall, a victim of the Columbine High School shooting, after finding out that she stood up for herself and what she believed in while on the verge of death.

On April 20, 1999, Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold entered Columbine High School with the intent of killing more people than the Oklahoma City Bombing. The two killed 12 students and a teacher. One of the students, Cassie Bernall, was reportedly asked by Klebold if she believed in God. She replied, “Yes, I believe in God” before she was killed by a gunshot to the head. Later investigators revealed that the question was actually asked to Valeen Schnurr, another student who survived the shooting.

The lyrics relating to the crime: “Do you believe in God?/ Written on the bullet/ Say yes to pull the trigger/ Do you believe in God?/ Written on the bullet/ And Cassie pulled the trigger.”

11. “Polly” by Nirvana

Kurt Kobain was inspired after reading a newspaper article about the kidnapping and rape of a 14-year-old girl.

Gerald Arthur Friend is a serial rapist and kidnapper who, in June 1987, abducted a 14-year-old girl at knifepoint after a rock concert. He repeatedly raped her and tortured her in his home. The girl was able to escape from his truck while he stopped for gas, and Friend was arrested a day later after being stopped for a traffic violation.

The lyrics relating to the crime: “Polly wants a cracker/I think I should get off her first/ I think she wants some water/ To put out the blow torch.”

12. “Annie Christian” by Prince

Prince was inspired by the narrative of Anti-Christ as well as the Atlanta Child Murders, the murder of John Lennon, and the attempted assassination of Ronald Reagan.

The Atlanta Child Murders occurred between 1979 and 1981, when 30 African- American children and young adults––mostly boys–– were kidnapped and murdered. The known victims were Alfred Evans, 13, Edward Hope Smith, 14, Milton Harvey, 14, Yusuf Bell, 9, Angel Lenair, 12, Jefferey Mathis, 10, Eric Middlebrooks, 14, Christopher Richardson, 12, Latonya Wilson, 6, Aaron Wyche, 10, Anthony Carter, 9, Earl Terrell, 11, Clifford Jones, 13, Darron Glass, 10, Charles Stephens, 12, Aaron Jackson, 9, Patrick Rogers, 15, Lubie Geter, 14, Terry Pue, 15, Patrick Baltazar,12, Curtis Walker, 15, Joseph Bell, 15, Timothy Hill, 13, Eddie Duncan, 21, Larry Rogers, 20, Michael McIntosh, 23, Jimmy Ray Payne, 21, John Porter, 28, William Barrett, 17, and Nathaniel Carter, 27. Wayne Bertram Williams was convicted for the murders of Nathaniel Carter and Jimmy Ray Payne in 1982. Detectives later linked him to 28 other murders, but he was never charged for those crimes.

On March 30, 1981, several shots were fired at former U.S. President Ronald Reagan while leaving the Hilton Hotel in Washington, D.C. The suspect, John Hinckley, Jr., was armed with a .22-caliber revolver. He was able to hit Reagan in his left armpit, but after twelve days at the George Washington University Hospital, he returned to the White House safe and sound.

The lyrics relating to the crime: “She killed black children, and what's fair is fair…Being good was such a bore, so she bought a gun/She killed John Lennon, shot him down cold/She tried to kill Reagan, everybody say gun control.”