Talking Heads » Tracks » Psycho Killer

Talking Heads – Psycho Killer (4:28)

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About This Track

“Psycho Killer” is a song by Talking Heads from their 1977 album Talking Heads: 77, written by David Byrne, Chris Frantz and Tina Weymouth. The band’s “signature debut hit” features lyrics which seem to represent the thoughts of a serial killer. Allmusic calls it a “deceptively funky New Wave/No Wave song … an insistent rhythm, and one of the most memorable, driving bass lines in rock & roll.”

“Psycho Killer” was the only song from the album to appear on the Billboard charts, peaking at 92 among Billboard Pop Singles. It placed 32nd on the Triple J Hottest 100 in 1989. It almost made the top ten in the Netherlands, peaking at #11 in 1977.

Lyrics

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
Read more… Edit wiki
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  • TheHappyDan

    This is actually better than the studio version.

    Saturday morning

  • NESkimoFan12

    I actually first came across this song because Cage The Elephant covered it. It was a good cover, but oh god the original I just can't get enough of.

    last week

  • klinikromantik

    run run run run run run run run awaaaaaaaaaaayyyyyyyyyyyy

    15 days ago

  • intenso5

    fap fap fap fap fap fap fap fap fap fap

    25 days ago

  • p-each

    fa fa fa fa fa fa far better [2]

    26 days ago

  • red-xiv

    Good track. Really good track. I just miss that opening bass.

    last month

  • cityofdelusion-

    fap fap fap fap fap [4] oh god, it's so good to know that I'm not the only one who thought about it...

    last month

  • corcinodiego

    fap fap fap fap fap better

    last month

  • punkkkbitch

    fa fa fa fa fa fa far better

    March 2012

  • toehairmonkey

    Love this version. =)

    February 2012

  • whiteheat_

    i hate people when they're not polite!

    February 2012

  • chromiumnumbers

    Clean and simple. Great song.

    December 2011

  • RemoteRemote

    the bass line is simple but effective

    December 2011

  • Apoelistas

    Should be the opening song for Dexter

    November 2011

  • kikikirsche

    Run Run Run Run Run Away OH OH OH

    November 2011

  • Stevenl95

    FA FA FA FA FAR BETTER

    October 2011

  • irfanh23

    fap fap fap fap fap [3]

    October 2011

  • Desoriental

    Run run run run run run run AWAYYYY OOOOOOHHHH OH AIAIAIAIA

    September 2011

  • spotpatty

    We brought our guitars to visit a friend, Vick, who had been committed o Western State Hospital for the Insane. We sat in a tiled room and sang this song and plotted his escape. A friend of ours was yelled at because she brought the Bolex and was filming the insanity of the insane. A great song memory.

    September 2011

  • James_Hartley

    que est-ce que ce est

    September 2011
See all 618 shouts

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