Ransom Riggs
Songs About Serial Killers, Part II
by Ransom Riggs - July 31, 2009 - 7:47 AM

Yep, there’s enough material out there for a two-parter. (If you missed part I, it’s here.) I should mention that above all others, one band takes the grand prize for serial killer songs — the Japanese metal group Church of Misery, who in 10+ albums, have rarely written a song not about a serial killer. Here’s a sampling of their work, about California serial killer Ed Kemper:

Gary Gilmore: The Police, “Bring on the Night”
This spree killer was famously written about in Norman Mailer’s The Executioner’s Song. Killed by firing squad in California in 1977, he accepted his death sentence and fought hard against the ACLU and other groups working to grant him stays of execution. He was so impatient, he even attempted suicide twice in prison. The Police’s song doesn’t reference Gilmore directly, but the theme fits him like a glove.


Columbine killers: Chumbawumba, “We Don’t Want to Sing Along”
Another song filled with veiled references, the usually upbeat Chumbawumba surprises with this song about school bullying leading to tragedy.

Charles Whitman: Harry Chapin, “Sniper”
Whitman was the psycho who killed 14 and wounded 32 in a shooting rampage at the University of Texas in 1966. Harry Chapin penned an emotional song about the incident.

Charles Whitman: Insane Clown Posse, “The Tower”
A considerably less nuanced song about the same incident. Warning: this video is a bit graphic and probably NSFW. (What else would you expect from the Posse?)

Charlie Starkweather: Bruce Springsteen, “Nebraska”
Charlie was a spree killer who shot 11 people in Nebraska and Wyoming during a roadtrip with his young girlfriend in 1958, immortalized in one of my favorite movies, Badlands. Bruce Springsteen also wrote this song about it, from the album of the same title, Nebraska.

Jack the Ripper: Nick Cave
There are lots of songs about Jack the Ripper, but I prefer Nick Cave’s take on the killer.

Pretty Boy Floyd: Woody Guthrie
Floyd was more bank robber than murderer, but he did his share of killing along the way, too.

Ted Bundy: Jane’s Addiction, “Ted, Just Admit It”
The message of this song is pretty clear from the title, I think. Though the lyrics are a bit vague, including some weird gems like “I am the killer of people / You look like a meatball.”

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Comments (22)

  1. Elton John’s “Ticking”. Not about a real person, and I suppose not a serial killer, but a kid who goes nuts and takes a bunch of hostages in a NYC bar. Shoots one person and stabs another.

    posted by Sean on 7-31-2009 at 8:34 am

  2. Since you opened the door by allowing Pretty Boy Floyd, how about “Machine Gun Kelley” by James Taylor? Also, I know there just HAS to be a song about Billie the Kid. Oh yeah, BoB Dylan did a song and a movie about him.

    posted by harold on 7-31-2009 at 9:36 am

  3. There’s also SADIE by Alkaline Trio which is about the Manson family…

    posted by scott neumyer on 7-31-2009 at 9:52 am

  4. Not a serial killer but Boomtown Rats “I Don’t Like Mondays”. From Wikipedia’s article:
    Geldof wrote the song after reading a telex report at Georgia State University’s campus radio station, WRAS, on the shooting spree of 16-year-old Brenda Ann Spencer, who fired at children playing in a school playground across the street from her home in San Diego, California. She killed two adults and injured eight children and one police officer. Spencer showed no remorse for her crime, and her full explanation for her actions was “I don’t like Mondays, this livens up the day.”

    posted by Annie on 7-31-2009 at 10:08 am

  5. Helter skelter by Kiss and the Beatles
    (though both denied they were about Manson)

    posted by David on 7-31-2009 at 10:39 am

  6. Just so you know…Gary Gilmore was executed by firing squad in Utah – not California. Part of the reason that Utah had (has?) the option of a firing squad is because of the tradition of blood atonement in the LDS church.

    posted by swss on 7-31-2009 at 11:35 am

  7. I think every song ever written by Macabre is about one serial killer or another…

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Macabre_(band)

    posted by Tim on 7-31-2009 at 11:39 am

  8. There’s another song about Gary Gilmore by The Adverts called “Gary Gilmore’s Eyes”.

    Great article!

    posted by Lindsay on 7-31-2009 at 12:18 pm

  9. “Black River Killer” by Blitzen Trapper kinda counts.

    posted by Nick on 7-31-2009 at 3:15 pm

  10. @David: The Beatles song “Helter Skelter” predated the Manson family’s crime spree. One member of the family did write the song’s title on a wall at Polanski’s house (misspelled, by the way), but that’s the only connection I’m aware of.

    The Beatles song is about a roller coaster.

    posted by PJ on 7-31-2009 at 6:51 pm

  11. Actually Helter Skelter is about a giant slide that used to be a big hit back in the day at travelling carnivals and the like.

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helter_skelter_(ride)

    posted by Del Davis on 7-31-2009 at 8:11 pm

  12. Micheal Sambelo’s song “Maniac” was originally about a serial killer, I’ve read. Probably not a real serial killer, but I think it fits.

    posted by Sara in AL on 7-31-2009 at 8:17 pm

  13. There’s also a wonderful song by Elvis Costello called “Psycho”, which was the B-side of his single of “Sweet Dreams”.

    posted by RC on 7-31-2009 at 8:33 pm

  14. Blind Melon’s “Skinned” is about Ed Gein.

    posted by Jessi on 8-1-2009 at 2:40 am

  15. I’m sure that someone must have mentioned “psycho killer” by the talking heads, which is about David “son of sam” Burkowitz.

    posted by jd on 8-1-2009 at 10:05 am

  16. @ David KISS never covered the Beatles’ Helter Skelter. You’re thinking of Motley Crue. The song was never about Manson or the murders either. Charlie thought the White Album was speaking to him and used the messages as incentive to start a race war between whites and blacks. Helter Skelter is a playgound slide in Britain as noted above.

    posted by Mike on 8-1-2009 at 10:26 am

  17. There’s also Sufjan Steven’s “John Wayne Gacy Jr”.

    posted by Jen on 8-1-2009 at 4:58 pm

  18. Mack the Knife…

    posted by Doflitchit on 8-1-2009 at 7:57 pm

  19. Billy Joel wrote a song about Billy the Kid. Also, Pearl Jam’s “Jeremy” is about a kid who gets fed up with getting picked on a goes on a killing spree in school. Don’t think it’s about anyone specific tho…

    posted by Jamie on 8-1-2009 at 9:59 pm

  20. Saucy Jack by Spinal Tap.

    posted by tx on 8-2-2009 at 10:35 pm

  21. The Serial Killer’s – Heidnick’s House of Horrors.

    The 7\ came with an actual bag of dirt from Gary Heidnick’s front yard!
    Look: http://recordrobot.blogspot.com/2005/07/souvenir-from-heidniks-house-of.html

    posted by stevo on 8-13-2009 at 10:06 am

  22. Wheres “I don’t like Mondays”….?

    posted by Diana on 1-21-2011 at 4:42 pm

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