Psycho Killer

Meaning of french lyrics : Qu'est-ce que c'est => what is it

Ce que j'ai fais, ce soir la => what i've done that night Ce qu'elle a dit, ce soir la => what she said that night Realisant mon espoir => realizing my hope Je me lance, vers la gloire ... => I'm going to glory

Who cares about classifications and genres? Punk is one of the biggest abominations in music. Not the music itself, but the word "punk". Like l0ki86 said, "punk" refers to bands like the Sex Pistols and the Ramones. But the Sex Pistols never called themselves punk, the press did. Then it became a style of music, and the rest is history.

But, to me, punk is just doing what ever you want to, regardless of what other people think. When you TRY to act "punk", wearing chains and torn clothes and stuff just because that's what you think punk is supposed to be, then you are the farthest from true punk as possible. I think that someone wearing Hollister clothes because that's what they want to wear, without trying to fit in, is being more punk than someone spiking their hair because its trendy.

Therefore, punk is in and of itself a contradiction. It is the label of an idea that is against labels. I don't think punk has to be a style of music, or a way to dress, or anything like that. True punk is just a state of mind, and nothing more.

So, with that mentality, Talking Heads are punk. So is Radiohead. So is Elton John.

But, seriously, WHO CARES???

Here's a little trivia for you. Patrick Bateman, the main character in the film and novel American Psycho states in the book (not in the movie version) that The Talking Heads is his favorite band, no doubt an allusion to this song.

In the Stop Making Sense DVD, David Byrne said that the song is about a serial killer that finds himself very sophisticated but he just loses control once in awhile. "look at me, i can speak french. im intelligent." is what the serial killer is trying to say...errr..David Byrne is trying to project. but hell, let it mean whatever you want. thats music

I think this song is about how our daily stress can turn us into psycho killers, but only in our imagination. Have you ever imagine yourself killing someone that really pisses you off? Or felt so bad about a lot of things that you can't sleep and that if someone dare to touch you they'd better run away? I think everyone is a potencial psycho killer and that's what this song means to me

In my opinion he's simply talking to himself... It sounds appropiately neurotic and it's a way to demonstrate why he can't interact with other people normally and a self-criticism.... He's bashing himself, accumulating rage, which explodes on the chorus and the French-sung part.

I am going to us the Hannibal Lector example again (used in may comment for Handlebars by The Flobots) for this song. In the book, Silence of the Lambs, Hannibal makes Agent Starling almost comfortable, like she can trust him. He acts like a gentleman, but we all know the horror that he is able to unleash. David Byrd is Pretty much conveying this message in Psycho Killer, as long as you look at this song in the exclusively literal sense.

I'm guessing that no one who's been here is bipolar. Out of all the famous people that i wonder about, i think that Byrne wins in the category of most likely to be bipolar. Symptoms of mania include talking a lot, not being able to sleep, exessive joke making, sometimes being euphoric and sad at the same time, talking to one's self, jumping from subject to subject-- sometimes in the middle of a sentence, enhanced creativity, a stronger likelyhood of being an artist, etc. Other Talking Heads lyrics include, "Can't stop/ I might end up in the hospital.", and "There's a party in my mind/ And the party never stops... everyone else can sleep, etc." In the movie Stop Making Sense David asks himself, "Ever been to a psychiatrist or taken drugs?" He responds, "I'll tell you later." I think that part of the meaning of the song, in typical eliptical style, is the ridcule of peoples' preconceptions of what "pychos" are like. Bipolar people when manic have an average murder rate.

The song is about a generic serial killer. He's trying to impress you with the French. That's what Byrne said.

Also, Talking Heads technically New Wave, though I don't really feel they fit into the genre.

On the live version of the song the lyrics change. Original: "You start a conversation you can't even finish it You're talkin' a lot, but you're not sayin' anything When I have nothing to say, my lips are sealed Say something once, why say it again?"

From album "The Name of the Band is Talking Heads" "I passed out hours ago I'm sadder then you'll ever know I close my eyes on this sunny day Say something once, why say it again?"