I believe the title is a play on color by numbers.
The first stanza "Once that you've decided... a murder into art" describes how you must detach if you are ever going to kill. That is a decision you must make. You can't kill and still care about other humans.
The second stanza "There really isn't any need for bloodshed" describes the easiest way of killing by poison. This is a method mainly employed by women and people most closely related to the victim. Some would also consider it the most humane.
The third stanza (after the chorus) "Now if you have a taste for this experience" describes a fairly big jump up the career killer ladder. It is killing two or three people at a time. This would teeter on the edge of being a serial killer and begins to suggest drive-by shootings, home invasions, etc.
The next stanza "Now you can join the ranks of the illustrious" discusses how after a few killings you can consider yourself infamous. This may have been true at the time the song was written. Again, this is a rather disjointed jump in the meaning of the song. Murderers are usually stopped after just a few killings and don't usually have a chance to pull off too many twofers and threefers...
The final stanza "But you can reach the top of your profession" discusses the political aspect. It is true that you can simply push a button to kill the whole world and that may have been a statement about nuclear war as much as it might have been about being powerful enough to get others to kill on your behalf. This may be the most twisted form of murder since it implies the willingness of those under you to go along with the crime or a scary thin gap between our world leaders and the bomb.
The chorus itself is a brilliant repitition of an near-childlike chant. You can almost see someone chanting it over and over with a knife dripping with blood.
Great song and creepy to know that it was the B-Side of "Every Breath You Take."
I believe the title is a play on color by numbers.
The first stanza "Once that you've decided... a murder into art" describes how you must detach if you are ever going to kill. That is a decision you must make. You can't kill and still care about other humans.
The second stanza "There really isn't any need for bloodshed" describes the easiest way of killing by poison. This is a method mainly employed by women and people most closely related to the victim. Some would also consider it the most humane.
The third stanza (after the chorus) "Now if you have a taste for this experience" describes a fairly big jump up the career killer ladder. It is killing two or three people at a time. This would teeter on the edge of being a serial killer and begins to suggest drive-by shootings, home invasions, etc.
The next stanza "Now you can join the ranks of the illustrious" discusses how after a few killings you can consider yourself infamous. This may have been true at the time the song was written. Again, this is a rather disjointed jump in the meaning of the song. Murderers are usually stopped after just a few killings and don't usually have a chance to pull off too many twofers and threefers...
The final stanza "But you can reach the top of your profession" discusses the political aspect. It is true that you can simply push a button to kill the whole world and that may have been a statement about nuclear war as much as it might have been about being powerful enough to get others to kill on your behalf. This may be the most twisted form of murder since it implies the willingness of those under you to go along with the crime or a scary thin gap between our world leaders and the bomb.
The chorus itself is a brilliant repitition of an near-childlike chant. You can almost see someone chanting it over and over with a knife dripping with blood.
Great song and creepy to know that it was the B-Side of "Every Breath You Take."
@DogsPajamas Yes. that's exactly what he said in the interview. "Color by numbers"
@DogsPajamas Yes. that's exactly what he said in the interview. "Color by numbers"