Lyric discussion by milk_and_honey 

Cover art for Crow Jane lyrics by Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds

So, somehow 20 people die in this song...but does the Crow kill them?

@milk_and_honey Yes, Crow Jane kills 20 miners. The miners come looking for something to do after losing their jobs. They enter Crow Jane's home without her permission, drink all her whiskey and rape her (Nick uses a euphemism for this - "poured their pistols dry"). In response, Crow Jane arms herself, travels to the mining town ("population 48") and sends the minors to their final retirement. As Nick's lyrics indicate, the town's population is 28 after Crow Jane leaves. Down 20 miners.