Psycho Killer

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“Psycho Killer”
Single by Talking Heads from the album Talking Heads: 77
B-side	"Psycho Killer" (Acoustic version)
Released	December 1977
Format	7" single
Recorded	1977
Genre	New Wave
Length	04:19
Label	Sire Records
Writer(s)	David Byrne, Chris Frantz and Tina Weymouth
Producer	Tony Bongiovi & Lance Quinn
Talking Heads singles chronology
"Uh-Oh, Love Comes to Town" (1977) "Psycho Killer" (1977) "Pulled Up" (1978)

"Psycho Killer" is the name of a new wave song from the 1977 Talking Heads album Talking Heads: 77. It was written by David Byrne with Chris Frantz and Tina Weymouth. The lyrics are supposed to represent the thoughts of a serial killer. According to the preliminary lyric sheets copied onto the 2006 remaster of Talking Heads: 77, the song started off as a semi-narrative of the killer actually committing murders. Byrne has said of the song:

“

When I started writing this (I got help later), I imagined Alice Cooper doing a Randy Newman-type ballad. Both the Joker and Hannibal Lecter were much more fascinating than the good guys. Everybody sort of roots for the bad guys in movies.

”

The bridge lyrics are in French and include the prominent chorus line, "Qu'est-ce que c'est ?", which translates in English to "What is it?". The rest of the French lyrics are:

Ce que j'ai fait ce soir-là
Ce qu'elle a dit ce soir-là
Réalisant mon espoir
Je me lance vers la gloire... OK

What I did, that evening
What she said, that evening
Fulfilling my hope
Headlong I go for glory... OK

An early version of the song as performed at CBGB had different lyrics after the first chorus:

Listen to me, now I’ve passed the test
I think I’m cute, I think I’m the best
Skirt tight, don't like that style
Don’t criticize what I know is worthwhile

The 1984 Talking Heads concert movie Stop Making Sense opens with Byrne alone onstage playing an acoustic version of "Psycho Killer", backed only by recorded drums (from a TR-808 drum machine) that appear to be playing on a tape player (they are actually played through the soundboard).

[edit] Influence

Rapper Ice-T says that "Psycho Killer" was a starting influence for Body Count's controversial hit "Cop Killer". ^[1]

The song has been covered by bands such as Brand New, Velvet Revolver, Rubin Steiner, Carry The Zero, Local H, Barenaked Ladies, Phish, Antiseen, The Hypertonics, Moxy Früvous, Terrorvision, The Flying Pickets, Rico, The Faint, Bishop Allen, Farryl Purkiss and The Kransky Sisters, in an operatic version by Kate Miller-Heidke, and in Polish as "Psychobójca" by Mariusz Lubomski.

"Psycho Killer" is used in the 1999 film Summer of Sam and during the closing credits of the 2006 film Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon.

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• "Psycho Killer" at All Music Guide

v • d • e Talking Heads David Byrne | Jerry Harrison | Tina Weymouth | Chris Frantz Studio Albums Talking Heads: 77 (1977) | More Songs About Buildings and Food (1978) | Fear of Music (1979) | Remain in Light (1980) | Speaking in Tongues (1983) | Little Creatures (1985) | True Stories (1986) | Naked (1988) The Heads Albums No Talking, Just Head (1996) Live Albums The Name of This Band Is Talking Heads (1982) | Stop Making Sense (1984) Compilations Sand in the Vaseline: Popular Favorites (1992) | Once in a Lifetime (2003) | The Best of Talking Heads (2004) | Brick (2005) | Bonus Rarities and Outtakes (2006) Filmography Stop Making Sense (1984) | True Stories (1986) | Storytelling Giant (1988)