Lyrics for John Wayne Gacy, Jr. as interpreted by attractivecousin

John Wayne Gacy, Jr. Lyrics
His father was a drinker
And his mother cried in bed
Folding John Wayne's t-shirts
When the swingset hit his head
The neighbors they adored him
For his humor and his conversation
Look underneath the house there
Find the few living things, rotting fast, in their sleep
Oh, the dead

Twenty-seven people
Even more, they were boys
With their cars, summer jobs
Oh my God

Are you one of them?

He dressed up like a clown for them
With his face paint white and red
And on his best behavior
In a dark room on the bed
He kissed them all
He'd kill ten thousand people
With a sleight of his hand
Running far, running fast to the dead
He took off all their clothes for them
He put a cloth on their lips
Quiet hands, quiet kiss on the mouth

And in my best behavior
I am really just like him
Look beneath the floor boards
For the secrets I have hid

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WheresPoochie
08-13-2009

Rated +1 
I just created an account solely so that I could post my thoughts on this controversial ballad. So if you don't mind, my two cents:

The final verse never really came to me until someone played this in class. Some other student thought that Mr. Stevens was actually claiming that he himself is a murderer (WTF?) but the meaning is obvious: everyone has a sinful side that is out of their control. STILL, perhaps there is a little confession in here as well...

Does anyone recall the gay undertones of some of his previous lyrics? Would it be a thin possibility that Sufjan Stevens is comparing the double-life of an undercover pedophilic killer to his own closeted homosexuality? The way he mentions himself being like Gacy is far to direct for me to see the last verse as a preaching of Man's original sin. Being a devout Christian, couldn't Mr. Stevens hold some sort of a guilt for being gay and perpetually hide his identity, only expressing himself through song?

Like, it might be a bit tacky of me to start such rumours but this is a matter of interpretation and less of a claim.

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starsnatcher
06-23-2009

Rated 0 
The last line of the song has to do with his Christian beliefs...
He's trying to make the point that nothing distinguishes him from a vicious murderer if we are all sinners.

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TRUTHnow
04-24-2009

Rated 0 
If there's one thing I have learned of Sufjan's lyrics its that he never says anything for no reason.
when he mentions the swing set hitting John Wayne Gacy's head as a child he brings up a controversial note.

That event apparently created a blood clot in Gracy's frontal lobe. Which went unnoticed until he was 16 and began to have blackouts. The significance of this is that frontal Lobe damage is Commonly in psychology associated with Anti Social disorder. Which was documented and undoubtedly a main factor in his horrifying lifestyle.

This whole song is pointing out that everyone's will is good. But We all have this original sin passed on from generation to generation. granted they each have varying degrees of sinfulness but it is only a product of chance and the life we are born into. Gacy's sin was passed on through his fathers lifestyle and only amplified by chance (swing set).

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ShepherdF
04-15-2009

Rated 0 
One of my favorite songs by him because of its great and true lyrics. and how he organized one man's life in such small text and made it such a great song

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TungskaButterfly
04-05-2009

Rated 0 
Oh, and also:

What I really, really love about this song, what very nearly had me in tears the first time I heard it, is the second verse. Despite what he's actually singing, he manages to make the acts sound almost romantic. In any other context "He took off all their clothes for them, He put a cloth on their lips, Quiet hands, quiet kiss on the mouth" would be a very tender gesture. It sort of sums up perfectly the whole headfuck element of Gacys story. That even though he was about to kill these people in brutal, horrific ways, he was tender and loving about it, in his own weird little way.

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TungskaButterfly
04-05-2009

Rated 0 
I always read this as quite a simple song about the fall out of the whole Gacy case from the perspective of someone in his community. The whole shock about Gacy was that he was, as the song says, loved by his neighbours. He was a normal guy. He often had people over for barbeques and was an active member in his local community. In much the same way as every year the same guy dresses up as Santa, John Wayne Gacy Jr. always dressed up as a clown and did magic tricks to entertain the kids. He didn't dress up as a clown for the sole purpose of killing people. He sent his psychologist, who interestingly was the real life basis for Clarice Starling, Christmas cards from prison.

The whole song feels really numb. I get the feeling that whilst the narrator never knew Gacy, they certainly knew of him, maybe saw him around now and then. The same with his victims. Especially in the line "oh my God, are you one of them?", the way it dawns on him that maybe he knew some of these people. Though the last line kinda makes sense from a Christian perspective, Sufjans lyrics rarely deal directly with religion. It's far more likely to be a case of simply "man, if Gacy can be that nice but do all those things, who the hell else in this town is fucked up?".

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gregorygodzik
04-04-2009

Rated 0 
This is the best song i have ever heard
it gives me chills every time i hear it
and that scares me
this song is beautiful..
i have been searching for clues to my past life
and this sparked something
i knew i was a boy killed by john
wayne gacy jr but i didnt know who.
im a girl now

but my username is who i was ..
when he says they were boys with their cars summer
jobs oh my god
are you one of them
gives me the weirdest feeling
ever
truly freaky

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flowerpatches
03-20-2009

Rated +1 
This is possibly my favorite song by Sufjan. Although the topic may be creepy to some, the lyrics and music overshadow that. I could listen to this all day long. Completely beautiful. 'Oh my God' gives me chills everytime I hear it. I also like the idea that some brought up about the ending lyrics being connected to God and sins. However you may view it, we all agree that this is a spectacular song.

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otisholmes
02-19-2009

Rated 0 
I used to listen to this song all the time, but ever since i realized what it's about i hardly do at all, it just creeps me out now.

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zanderfool
02-02-2009

Rated 0 
My favorite part of the song is when it builds up near the end.
He'd kill ten thousand people
With a sleight of his hand
Running far, running fast to the dead
He took off all their clothes for them
He put a cloth on their lips

and in simple terms
I think he is just saying that everyone has dark secrets.

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Swe3tInsanityxxx
01-10-2009

Rated 0 
This song is beautiful. I listened to it several times before I decided to search who John Wayne Gacy was. One of my favorite songs. Then, after taking all of that into account and seeing some pictures of John Wayne Gacy - I was terrified. Clowns, for whatever reason, whatever mask they wear, have always scared me.

Mostly, around "he killed ten thousand people", when the higher pitches on the piano are really coming into play, it illustrates how music can sometimes tell a story so much better than words. Those sounds and the music with it haunted me the most.

So, today, I put it on repeat. And found so much more than horror in it.

The part that is still overwhelmingly chilling though, is when Sufjan asks "are you one of them?".
Which just reminds me of the nameless victims of JWG. It provokes some thought.

But, I whole-heartedly agree with the statement: "And In My Best Behavior, I Am Really Just Like Him. Look Underneath The Floor-Boards For The Secrets I Have Hid". The only reason that Gacy is worse than any of us in our daily lives is because society has deemed it so : And I do not disagree. What he did was horrid. But I'm sure you can think of a secret you keep that close to you. Underneath your floorboards (kind of makes you think of Poe, eh?).

On my best behavior, I am really just like him.

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umbrellahead
11-14-2008

Rated 0 
I think the 'on his best behaviour' line when Sufjan is talking about John Wayne just means that we can't hide who we are from God - obviously when this man is murdering and raping young men he isn't on his best behaviour, but that is who he is. And i guess Sufjan is saying this also applies to himself - he can be on his 'best behaviour' but there's no way of decieving God.

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parksj1
10-24-2008

Rated 0 
I do understand (and relate to) Sufjan's frustration with people twisting the meanings of his songs, or even just overanalyzing them. But even if he didn't intentionally write this song with overtly "religious" overtones as some have said, comments like the following are inherently religious (sorry):
"I personally think the song is about the universal capability of all humankind for the worst kind of actions."
Universal capability for evil is a religious concept. Christians define this capability as "original sin," but the concept is the same. But Christians take it one step further (as does Sufjan in this song). Not only is everyone on earth universally capable of sin, but everyone on earth HAS SINNED. If that offends you, I'm sorry, but please understand that I include myself in that statement. I am sinful. Sufjan is sinful. You are sinful. I don't pretend to know you or know HOW sinful you are, but that's not the point. The point is you are sinful. Welcome to the club. Sufjan has other songs that hit on the other side of the story (that Christ offered himself as a sacrifice for everyone), but this song leaves us with the knowledge of our own sin, something that this generation needs to hear badly. I don't think Sufjan meant to preach...this song is more of a confession than a sermon, but sometimes the best sermons are confessional. I applaud his transparency. And I feel the need to write a confessional lyric now... :-)

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mspennylane
10-19-2008

Rated 0 
When he says "in my best behaviour i am really just like him" i think Sufjans talking about how looks are decieving, how john waynes neighbours adored him, and they had no idea what was rotting in his crawlspace.. I listened to this song, then looked up the story, it made my stomach turn, and then i listened to the song again and it made me cry..
Sufjan Stevens is my biggest inspriration at the moment, absolutely amazing.

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speakforthwords
10-16-2008

Rated 0 
jady:

The idea of Christ and christian themes in general used to be oppressive to me. Since I've begun to follow christ I don't want anything else. All of the christians who say this song is religiously themed say that because the song is not as wonderful without it. They read that particular message into the song because that is exactly what Sifjan intended to present.

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speakforthwords
10-16-2008

Rated 0 
aha a lion:

You say "this songs is about the universal capability universal capability of humankind for the worst kind of actions." Sufjan, a Christian, would necessarily define that as sin. If he writes song about a broken twisted human he is not talking about a secular concept. If you live in a world described by faith the word secular doesn't even mean anything.

I agree that Sufjan, an extreme introvert, is bothered by people dissecting his musical decisions. However, there isn't much else worth writing about to someone who has a relationship with Christ, other than his creation, redemption, and the seperation of this world from him. This song is certainly about the latter.

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electric__avenue
09-26-2008

Rated 0 
piano and guitar makes it so terribly haunting.

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LoveThyEmily
08-03-2008

Rated 0 
That makes sense
Thanks:)

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LoveThyEmily
08-03-2008

Rated 0 
That makes sense
Thanks:)

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starsfalldown
07-31-2008

Rated 0 
in response to LoveThyEmily, the line i think is "He'd kill ten thousand people, with a sleight of his hand"
i think sufjan is just saying he wouldn't hesitate to kill that many people.

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LoveThyEmily
07-24-2008

Rated 0 
I love how the song escelates from "he dressed up like a clown for them" to "quiet hands..."
The whole song is one of my favorites on the album, it's hauntingly beautiful and it makes you think.

The one part I didn't really get was "He killed ten thousand people" when he only killed about 30. Maye it's the whole "all sins are the same in God's eyes, killing one is like killing a thousand"? but I really don't know.

I interpreted the "I am really just like him" as we all have dark secrets, even if some are worse than others.

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thenbxmas
07-09-2008

Rated 0 
It is said that John Wayne Gacy had the psychological innocence of a child when he was killing. Read it in his biography. I think that's what the "best behavior" line is all about.

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Viva Emily
06-09-2008

Rated 0 
The Bible calls all who are followers of Christ to involve Him in everything they do. Even if the subject isn't specifically about Christ himself, one who lives their life according to the Bible will always be somewhat influenced by the Word in what they do, logically. The main point of Christianity is that mankind is sinful, depraved, and far from perfect, but that humans don't need to be perfect because of God's grace. Whether we are christians or not is irrelevent; Sufjan is and his song runs directly parallel to the christian belief.

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mikefoxtrot
05-10-2008

Rated 0 
Actually I signed in this site just to add my ideas about this song: I am Italian, and I have studied Latin for many years. Latins used to say "Homo sum et nihil humanum a me alienum puto" "I am a man, so nothing of mankind I think is different from me". I mean that Sufjan Stevens tells us that he himself like all of us when hear about such horrible news like murders or incests are frightened from something that comes from the inner part of us, the beast that sleeps in the dark bottom of us, as members of human kind.

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Tanye Mitzer
05-06-2008

Rated 0 
I'm convinced that by "beaneath the floorboards" Sufjan Stevens is referring to his deepest thoughts. We all have thoughts that are simply wrong, John Wayne Gacy Jr. simply put his thoughts into action while we pretend that we don't have them. It all starts in the mind. Every person has desires and wishes that they shouldn't John Wayne Gacy Jr. was wrong, but not one of a kind.

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