Can anyone please help me figure out this song.
What was that song out in the 80’s that was basically narrated by a guy with a German accent. It told the story of some dead bodies being discovered in a barn, and details the murder investigation.
Does anybody else remember this?? Anybody know what it is??
Can’t help you, other than to say that this really belongs in Cafe Society. You might want to ask a moderator to move it there.
Off to Cafe Society.
DrMatrix - GQ Moderator
Just a stab in the dark (no pun intended), but you may be thinking about “I Don’t Like Mondays.”
It was by the Boomtown Rats, featuring lead singer Bob Geldof (of ‘Live Aid’ fame). I can’t remember how the verses go, but the premise of the song (based on a true event apparently) is based on a case of a mass murderer who, when asked why he began indiscriminately shooting people, answered “I Don’t Like Mondays.”
The band were english blokes, but Geldof sang with an affected, arty New Wave poseur accent that I can imagine passing for German. It’s been decades since I’ve heard the song though.
“I Don’t Like Mondays” is actually about Brenda Spencer, a 16-year-old who starting taking random shots at an elementary school across from her house (I think in San Diego or Chula Vista, maybe) . I believe there were 5 dead or perhaps 5 total wounded & dead, including two teachers. According to news reports she did say “I never really did like Mondays” when asked about it at her arrest. Bob Geldof was being interviewed on a radio show when the story came over the wire (hence the line in the song, “The Telex machine is kept so clean as it writes to a waiting world”). The shooting took place in 1979, and Spencer would have been up for parole by now, though I don’t know any more about it than that, except that the song was originally conceived as reggae.
I kind of doubt that’s the song the OP was looking for. If I had to guess from “German-sounding” and “narration of a murder investigation”, I’d say Nick Cave (optionally … and the Bad Seeds) but I don’t know a particular song that fits.
“Song of Joy” is the closest Nick Cave song that’s coming to mind.
No, no…it wasn’t “I don’t like Mondays”. That has singing, this song had no singing that I can remember. It was (almost) totally spoken over the music.
It had a creepy (well, creepy to me) video, too. It was definately eurpoean (had that typical dark look you get from older euro film).
A friend at work knows exactly what I am talking about, but can’t remember the name either.
I wish I could think of more details…The narrator sounded German or possibly Dutch. The video showed the a barn or shed where the murders took place, and there was some bit about the townspeople hunting down the killer (I think they carried out a little vigilante justice). Also, I can remember a pause in the beat, and some sort of ‘button’ line at the end that filled in a part of the story.
I think it was out around the time of another song that scared me a little. I think that one was by Yes. All I can remember about that was a horrible screeching noise, and a crow or large bird in the video. If somebody could figure that one out, maybe I could check old charts from the same year??
Man, that was a horrible description, I really hope somebody can help me figure this out or it will be sitting oin my mind for weeks!
Checked the lyrics on that one, so that wasn’t it either. This was told almost as if the narrator was just reading the newspaper story.
It started with the bodies being discovered, and told the story fromt here I think. It may have been a child killer now that I really think about it, but I may be over-thinking it.
I think “Owner of a Lonely Heart” was the Yes song I remember seeing in the same music video shows (this was back when music videos were really breaking…we’d watch the charts like TV shows.)
That was out in '83. Anybody know where I can check a Billboard chart for 1983?
This is ringing some bells for me, too, but I can’t place it. Can you describe the video better?
Hmm. I wonder if it was maybe this one?
Pardon the three posts in a row, but I found this list of MTV’s videos for 1983:
http://eightiesclub.tripod.com/id81.htm
And here’s a whole 1980s pop-culture index:
I’ll try…
Here’s what I remember about the video:
-It showed a barn or shed where the bodies were discovered (Now I remember that line “where the bodies were discovered” is actually in the song!).
-I remember an older looking car, so perhaps it was re-telling a story from the 50s or 60s?
-I remember a trench-coated inspector who was in charge of the case.
-I’m pretty sure the townspeople banded together and killed the suspect, but I’m only 80% sure of that.
-There is a memorable bit in the middle with some german (or possibly Dutch) shouting. That part really scared me as a kid.
-There was a scene where a photographer was trying to take some pictures and was being held back by a cop. He had one of those old cameras with the big flash bulb, which backs up the 50s or 60s guess.
-This was definately better known for the video. I don’t ever remember hearing it on the radio (not radio friendly with naration instead of singing, I guess). But the video did get a lot of airplay on the video charts here in Canada. Right around the time videos really took off and Much Music was born as a full-time TV station.
I was looking at some music charts from '83 and all the other songs there seem to be from pretty-much the same time period.
Tob40Db.net has Billboard Top 40 charts since 1955. It could be of some help.
I don’t know about the German accent, but could it be Tom Waits’ Murder in the Red Barn? The lyrics are on the official web site here.
I am almost completely sure I know this song, but I can’t think of enough information to Google it. Curses.
I vaguely remembered this video too. Weird stuff.
A quick search with my favorite Meta Search tool Copernic using the keywords [80s, video, barn, murder] has turned up this:
The Box- L’Affaire Dumoutier (Say To Me) (1984)
The Box was a group formed by one of the dudes in Men Without Hats.
Go here for all of your Box info:
http://secure.canoe.ca/JamMusicPopEncycloPagesB/box.html
Whoops, bad link. The lyrics are here.
I s it at all possible it could be Der Kommisar by Falco ?
Chris W
The guy was telling the story of Norman Bates (from Psycho). The chorus went:
My name is Norman Bates
I’m just a normal guy
My name is Norman Bates
The song was called “Norman Bates,” and it’s by a band called Landscape. Some info:
(Hooray! I never get these!)