# Creepiest rock song? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 12, 2008, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/creepiest-rock-song/476943 "2008-12-12T22:12:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 8
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2008, 4:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/creepiest-rock-song/476943/141 "2008-12-16T04:05:50Z")
Am I the first to mention [_Polly_](http://www.metrolyrics.com/polly-lyrics-nirvana.html) by Nirvana? Especially creepy when you know the song was based on a real incident. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Man\_In\_Black](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bcef8e/32.png) [@The\_Man\_In\_Black](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Man_In_Black)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2008, 4:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/creepiest-rock-song/476943/142 "2008-12-16T04:52:53Z")
> [@control-z](#): > > Yeah as a parent it’s hard for me to listen to that one too. Here’s the song, and a pretty decent homemade video by a fan: [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lwj5\_SNWYc8](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lwj5_SNWYc8) I just watched that. Never heard of it till now. Good God is that song wrong. Why would anyone make a song like that? And yes, I did save the video. :eek: ---
**Author:** ![ToeJam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/dfb087/32.png) [@ToeJam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ToeJam)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2008, 4:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/creepiest-rock-song/476943/143 "2008-12-16T04:59:01Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > Am I the first to mention [_Polly_](http://www.metrolyrics.com/polly-lyrics-nirvana.html) by Nirvana? How could I have forgotten my FAVORITE Creepy Rock Song! [Rape Me](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kZrUW6UXkk0) by Nirvana- the acoustic version is just really haunting… Best Creepy song. ---
**Author:** ![Rubystreak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Rubystreak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rubystreak)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2008, 5:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/creepiest-rock-song/476943/144 "2008-12-16T05:09:06Z")
Just posting to say that none of the songs in my OP come close to the creepiest song ever. This thread has been quite an… ear opener? ---
**Author:** ![Chef\_Troy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/85f322/32.png) [@Chef\_Troy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chef_Troy)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2008, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/creepiest-rock-song/476943/145 "2008-12-16T15:04:12Z")
How about [Lullaby](http://www.songmeanings.net/songs/view/7584/) by the Cure? And although “Every Breath You Take” may have been the Stalker’s Anthem for a long time, I think Clay Aiken’s [Invisible](http://www.songmeanings.net/songs/view/3530822107858489880/) gives it a run for the money. [QUOTE=Clay Aiken] If I was invisible Then I could just watch you in your room If I was invincible I’d make you mine tonight If hearts were unbreakable Then I can just tell you where I stand I would be the smartest man If I was invisible (Wait..I already am) [/quote] ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2008, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/creepiest-rock-song/476943/146 "2008-12-16T15:06:29Z")
> [@Chef\_Troy](#): > > How about [Lullaby](http://www.songmeanings.net/songs/view/7584/) by the Cure? Why do you hate Spiderman? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![control-z](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/eada6e/32.png) [@control-z](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/control-z)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2008, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/creepiest-rock-song/476943/147 "2008-12-16T19:54:45Z")
“Beheaded” by the Offspring: > [@](#): > > Beheaded > Watch you spurt like a garden hose > Beheaded > Bloody mess all over my clothes > > Watch my girlfriend come to the door > Chop off her head, she falls to the floor > Watching my baby’s jugular flow > Really makes my motor go > > Wrap a towel around the bloody stump > Take my baby’s body to the city dump > Then wipe the mess off the bloody axe > Scoop all the heads in my burlap sack Maybe that is more overtly gross and over-the-top rather than creepy, but still very weird. And I don’t think anyone has mentioned Doors - “The End”: > [@](#): > > The killer awoke before dawn, he put his boots on > He took a face from the ancient gallery > And he walked on down the hall > He went into the room where his sister lived, and…then he > Paid a visit to his brother, and then he > He walked on down the hall, and > And he came to a door…and he looked inside > Father, yes son, I want to kill you > Mother…I want to…fuck you ---
**Author:** ![BurnMeUp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/91b2a8/32.png) [@BurnMeUp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BurnMeUp)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2008, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/creepiest-rock-song/476943/148 "2008-12-16T20:16:37Z")
Someone earlier mentioned Nick Cave, and a LOT of his are creepy, but one of my favorites from his early years has to be [From her to Eternity](http://www.bad-seed.org/~cave/lyrics/fhte.lyrics.html#From) The way it’s sung with the spartan atonal piano notes just makes it so much more creepy. You can hear the audio [here](http://www.last.fm/music/Nick+Cave+and+the+Bad+Seeds/_/From+Her+To+Eternity) on the right side of the website ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2008, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/creepiest-rock-song/476943/149 "2008-12-17T01:37:15Z")
If you want Whimsically Creepy, there’s “[Turn Around](http://tmbw.net/wiki/Lyrics:Turn_Around)” by They Might Be Giants ---
**Author:** ![Cider\_Depot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e274bd/32.png) [@Cider\_Depot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cider_Depot)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2008, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/creepiest-rock-song/476943/150 "2008-12-17T02:30:55Z")
> [@BurnMeUp](#): > > Someone earlier mentioned Nick Cave, and a LOT of his are creepy IN the game of creepy lyrics, Nick Cave is a lay down mizere! _Deep in the Woods_ Almost every song off _Murder Ballads_ I’d like Nick Cave to do a cover of Dido’s _White Flag_, because I’m pretty sure it would end up creepy. ---
**Author:** ![Shakester](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shakester/32/437_2.png) [@Shakester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shakester)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2008, 4:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/creepiest-rock-song/476943/151 "2008-12-19T04:30:51Z")
\*\*Donovan does not sing “14” in Mellow Yellow. \*\* I’ve liked that song since I was a kid in the 70s, (and own copies on both CD and vinyl) and up until reading this thread right now I’ve only ever heard the word as “Fonteyn” - clearly a reference to Margot Fonteyn, who was (through the 50s and 60s, the time that Donovan was absorbing cultural references and writing songs) a huge celebrity, a household name, and remains probably the most famous ballerina of all time. > **[Margot Fonteyn](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Margot_Fonteyn)** > > Dame Margaret Evelyn de Arias DBE (née Hookham; 18 May 1919 – 21 February 1991), known by the stage name Margot Fonteyn, was an English ballerina. She spent her entire career as a dancer with the Royal Ballet (formerly the Sadler's Wells Theatre Company), eventually being appointed prima ballerina assoluta of the company by Queen Elizabeth II. Beginning ballet lessons at the age of four, she studied in England and China, where her father was transferred for his work. Her training in Shanghai ... The song is a nonsense song, and Donovan is obviously just singing words that sound cool and have no particular meaning. I was pretty surprised that anyone hears the word as “14” so I listened to the song, and I can sort-of-see how someone who had never heard of Fonteyn could interpret what he’s singing as “14” - if you were desperate to hear a word you’re not familiar with as one that you are - but there’s no doubt about what he’s singing to anyone who is familiar with the name. Factor Donovan’s Glasgow accent into the equation, and it’s even more obvious that he’s singing Fonteyn. Anyway, in the context of the song, he alternates the name Fonteyn with Saffron, also a name (as well as a flower). Obviously what he’s singing is a name, and the name is Fonteyn. A Google search shows that “14” is quite a common misinterpretation, but that plenty of people get the reference to the celebrity ballerina, same as I did. The word Fontaine - note different spelling - is French for fountain, which could be an alternate theory, but as I said: he’s clearly singing a name. There are other people called Fontaine (with various spellings) but the fame of Dame Margot, particularly in Donovan’s era, makes her the obvious candidate. If Donovan now sings “14” or makes a jokey reference to 14 year old girls in the song, I’d bet it’s because someone told him about hearing it as “14” and Donovan thought it was funny. Something very like that is the story behind why John Fogherty now sometimes sings “there’s a bathroom on the right” when performing “Bad Moon Rising”. ---
**Author:** ![Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2008, 1:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/creepiest-rock-song/476943/152 "2008-12-19T13:56:14Z")
> [@Shakester](#): > > If Donovan now sings “14” or makes a jokey reference to 14 year old girls in the song, I’d bet it’s because someone told him about hearing it as “14” and Donovan thought it was funny. Something very like that is the story behind why John Fogherty now sometimes sings “there’s a bathroom on the right” when performing “Bad Moon Rising”. I just went back and listened to the song with that in mind, and can only say that I disagree. It’s clearly “fourteen,” not “Fonteyn.” And it isn’t that he “now” adds the bit about “14-year old girls”; he was already singing that back in 1967, as heard on the _Donovan In Concert_ CD. ---
**Author:** ![Liberal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/848f3c/32.png) [@Liberal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liberal)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2008, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/creepiest-rock-song/476943/153 "2008-12-19T14:09:59Z")
Speaking of Donovan, I nominate **Hurdy Gurdy Man** , mostly because of its common usage in very icky and disturbing cinematic scenes. ---
**Author:** ![Shakester](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shakester/32/437_2.png) [@Shakester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shakester)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2008, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/creepiest-rock-song/476943/154 "2008-12-19T14:56:09Z")
> [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](#): > > I just went back and listened to the song with that in mind, and can only say that I disagree. It’s clearly “fourteen,” not “Fonteyn.” And it isn’t that he “now” adds the bit about “14-year old girls”; he was already singing that back in 1967, as heard on the _Donovan In Concert_ CD. Chances are that someone first misheard it when it first came out and was a hit and was played on the radio a lot. _When_ it happened doesn’t matter, does it? I’ve already made my argument, if you don’t wish to accept it, there’s no harm in believing what you like about it. Short of asking Donovan himself, there’s no way of confirming it definitively. I just checked his webpage, but (unsurprisingly) there’s no “ask Donovan” feature there. ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2008, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/creepiest-rock-song/476943/155 "2008-12-19T16:09:51Z")
> [@Hazle\_Weatherfield](#): > > I’m almost positive that the toadies song is about a vampire trying to seduce the girl into letting him turn her into a vampire. It’s one of my favorite songs! Just saw posts 29 and 33. Re: The Toadies’ song Possum Kingdom - have you seen the [video](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F5Cf5OusjrQ) (youTube link) for the song? It intercuts between video of the band playing in a club with the police hauling a body that’s been bagged, bound and weighted from a lake. I vote whackjob serial killer, not steamy vampishness; sorry. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2008, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/creepiest-rock-song/476943/156 "2008-12-19T16:15:47Z")
> [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](#): > > I just went back and listened to the song with that in mind, and can only say that I disagree. It’s clearly “fourteen,” not “Fonteyn.” And it isn’t that he “now” adds the bit about “14-year old girls”; he was already singing that back in 1967, as heard on the _Donovan In Concert_ CD. I always heard “vaulting” as in track and field, or gymnastics. I’ve only heard the studio version of the song, but if he adds “girls” in concert, well, then he’s just singing a nonsense lyric about women’s gymnastics. It’s at least as defensible an interpretation as Margot Fonteyn. ---
**Author:** ![bluecanary](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bluecanary/32/3614_2.png) [@bluecanary](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bluecanary)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2008, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/creepiest-rock-song/476943/157 "2008-12-19T16:17:44Z")
Overtly creepy lyrics: Godley & Creme - ‘_Under Your Thumb_’ (the OP reminded me of this one) Metallica - ‘_Die Die My Darling_’ Fastball - ‘_The Way_’ Cryptic lyrics: Chris Rea - ‘_Auberge_’ Eagles - ‘_Hotel California_’ Creepy sound: Sniff ‘n’ The Tears - ‘_Driver’s Seat_’ ---
**Author:** ![Duke\_of\_Rat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Duke\_of\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duke_of_Rat)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2008, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/creepiest-rock-song/476943/158 "2008-12-19T18:00:31Z")
[quote=“WordMan, post:10, topic:476943”] **The Toadies, Possum Kingdom** - named after a park in their hometown, QUOTE] Possum Kingdom is actually a lake in north central Texas, and I think The Toadies were from near there. ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2008, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/creepiest-rock-song/476943/159 "2008-12-19T19:50:20Z")
My nomination for good and creepy is “This Perfect World” by Freedy Johnston: > [@](#): > > You oughta lock that door > Somebody might get in > Didn’t I teach you that? Great song. Creepy, but great. ---
**Author:** ![Lobohan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobohan/32/79_2.png) [@Lobohan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobohan)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2008, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/creepiest-rock-song/476943/160 "2008-12-19T20:25:11Z")
Nick Cave and Kylie Minogue , _[Where the Wild Roses Grow](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jRMe5H9WKpM)_ was the one that jumped out at me when I read the thread title. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/creepiest-rock-song/476943.md?page=7) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/creepiest-rock-song/476943.md?page=9)