Creepy Pop Songs

SteveK · Post by **SteveK** » Sun Nov 06, 2005 4:25 am

izzarina wrote:Mack The Knife.....it has such a catchy beat to it, you can't help but like it. Then you really listen to what it's about and it all just seems so bizzare

I saw the American version of The Threepenny Opera a very long time ago. The way they did Mack was fairly campy. They also left out some fairly grim verses. The guy who sang it came out on stage with a rose between his teeth. The song Pirate Jenny was pretty creepy. Although Mack was a murderer and doer of many evil deeds and sentenced to hang a Deus ex machina saved the day.

Sung to the Mack the Knife tune

Happy ending, nice and tidy
It's a rule I learned in school
Get your money every Friday
Happy endings are the rule.

SteveK · Post by **SteveK** » Sun Nov 06, 2005 4:35 am

Walden wrote:
SteveK wrote:Strange Fruit
While I believe this started life as a poem by Lewis Allan, rather than popular song, its famous recording by Billie Holiday is indeed disturbing, especially for those of us in regions where it was all too true (which is much more of the United States than is often mentioned).

I didn't know about the poem so I googled it. They guy who wrote it apparantly set it to music himself after writing the poem.

I googled my home town a couple of days ago looking for something. It is not in the south but there were several pictures of a lynching that took place there. You're right; it wasn't only southern trees.

missy · Post by **missy** » Sun Nov 06, 2005 7:37 am

khl wrote:Anyone here remember "Timothy" by the Buoys? Three guys trapped in a cave for a long time. They get hungry. Two survive. That probably fits under creepy, no?
.

no,no,no - Timothy wasn't a person, he was a mule (or donkey or horse or something). If you bought the 45, the whole thing was explained on the jacket cover.

I don't remember the title of the song, but how about the one from the late '50's - early 60's where the guy dances with a girl, walks her home and lets her borrow his sweater, goes back the next day and finds out she died a year ago, and finds his sweater on the grave stone? Something like "Strange things happen in this world".

izzarina · Post by **izzarina** » Sun Nov 06, 2005 7:47 am

Wombat wrote:
izzarina wrote:Mack The Knife.....it has such a catchy beat to it, you can't help but like it. Then you really listen to what it's about and it all just seems so bizzare
Well spotted, Iz. Most of the people who sing that one, including Louis Armstrong, don't seem to have any idea what it's about, although it would have been a Weill idea to present it as a jolly song.

I think it's hard to really know what it's about, at least right away (well, for those that redid it, there's no excuse). It's that beat! It makes you want to snap your fingers and dance around. I went for quite a while dancing around to that song, without knowing what it said exactly. Plus, it doesn't help that whomever is singing it seems to be having so much fun while they sing it. So there I was, dancing around to a song glorifying some serial killer

emmline · Post by **emmline** » Sun Nov 06, 2005 8:12 am

izzarina wrote: So there I was, dancing around to a song glorifying some serial killer

Well, more of a thug, I'd say. It's a fine line though.

Timothy was a mule?

And if we're allowed to nominate the purposefuly creepy, then Alison by Elvis Costello.

SteveK · Post by **SteveK** » Sun Nov 06, 2005 8:29 am

Here's a little background on Mack the Knife, The Beggar's Opera and The Threepenny Opera.

http://www.straightdope.com/mailbag/mmacktheknife.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Threepenny_Opera

Joseph E. Smith · Post by **Joseph E. Smith** » Sun Nov 06, 2005 8:44 am

Darwin wrote:
I find most murder ballads basically creepy. There aren't that many that qualify as "pop", though. Maybe Hey Joe?

I am a huge Hendrix fan, but that song creeps me out... and I can't begin to tell you how many times folks ask me where I'm going with that gun in my hand... if I had a dollar for............<img src="http://www.kingswalden.com/e107_plugins ... d_roll.gif" />

dubhlinn · Post by **dubhlinn** » Sun Nov 06, 2005 8:44 am

There is a wonderful version of Mack the Knife by Ella Fitzgerald where she forgets the words and improvises some gags about the band and other versions of the song.

Slan,
D.

Joseph E. Smith · Post by **Joseph E. Smith** » Sun Nov 06, 2005 8:48 am

Wombat wrote:'Warm Leatherette',

Oooooh, is that the punk song where two punks (a boy and a girl) get into a car crash and decide to boink one more time before they die of their massive injuries? It has been ages since I heard that one!

Joseph E. Smith · Post by **Joseph E. Smith** » Sun Nov 06, 2005 8:50 am

emmline wrote: And if we're allowed to nominate the purposefuly creepy, then Alison by Elvis Costello.

I love that song. I think Watching the Dectectives is a little creepier.

Every Breath You Take, by the Police.... a song about stalking.

Wombat · Post by **Wombat** » Sun Nov 06, 2005 9:25 am

Joseph E. Smith wrote:
Wombat wrote:'Warm Leatherette',
Oooooh, is that the punk song where two punks (a boy and a girl) get into a car crash and decide to boink one more time before they die of their massive injuries? It has been ages since I heard that one!

That's the one. Tasty, eh?

Random notes · Post by **Random notes** » Sun Nov 06, 2005 9:25 am

What about Velvet Underground?

Shiny Shiny Boots of Leather

shiny, shiny, shiny boots of leather
whiplash girlchild in the dark
comes in bells, your servant, don't forsake him
strike, dear mistress, and cure his heart
...
kiss the boot of shiny, shiny leather
shiny leather in the dark
tongue of thongs, the belt that does await you
strike, dear mistress, and cure his heart

Okay, maybe not so creepy. In fact, I guess it's kind of sweet...

Roger

Walden · Post by **Walden** » Sun Nov 06, 2005 9:44 am

Santa Claus Is Coming to Town

"...He sees when you are sleeping
He knows when you're awake
He knows when you've been bad or good
So be good for goodness sake
You better watch out
You better not cry
You better not pout..."

Joseph E. Smith · Post by **Joseph E. Smith** » Sun Nov 06, 2005 10:26 am

Walden wrote:Santa Claus Is Coming to Town

"...He sees when you are sleeping
He knows when you're awake
He knows when you've been bad or good
So be good for goodness sake
You better watch out
You better not cry
You better not pout..."

This song freaked me out when I was 9 or 10. I haven't liked it since, and I have a great distrust of Santa Claus (Satan Claus) to this very day.

Wombat wrote:
Joseph E. Smith wrote:
Wombat wrote:'Warm Leatherette',
Oooooh, is that the punk song where two punks (a boy and a girl) get into a car crash and decide to boink one more time before they die of their massive injuries? It has been ages since I heard that one!
That's the one. Tasty, eh?

I thought so. Cool song... in a creepy, gross, nasty kind of way.

khl · Post by **khl** » Sun Nov 06, 2005 10:31 am

missy wrote:
khl wrote:Anyone here remember "Timothy" by the Buoys? Three guys trapped in a cave for a long time. They get hungry. Two survive. That probably fits under creepy, no?
.
no,no,no - Timothy wasn't a person, he was a mule (or donkey or horse or something). If you bought the 45, the whole thing was explained on the jacket cover.

.

Maybe, maybe not. The guy who wrote the lyrics says no. Seems the mule thing got invented later:

http://www.songfacts.com/detail.php?id=2005

http://laststandingman.tripod.com/The%2 ... intala.htm

http://www.rupertholmes.com/interviews/ ... on_QA.html