Sufjan Stevens - John Wayne Gacy, Jr. + LYRICS + STORY

[weirdandproud96]

gah, I got the chills when he sang "Are you one of them"

<3 first time hearing this song, and I already love it so much.

[prettymaryk326]

The theme is similar to "Son of Sam" by Elliott Smith. Both amazing songs by great artists.

[TheDuckofLaw]

utterly chilling. This song is hard to listen to, despite its artistic beauty.



[jrapantera]

his is a great song. I just hate that it's true and it's dedicated to this person

[samofhansen]

@jrapantera it's not dedicated to this person; the point Sufjan was trying to make when writing this song was that in his sin, he is no greater a man than John Wayne Gacy. "In my best behavior, I am really just like him, Look underneath the floorboards for the secrets I have hid"

[jrapantera]

@samofhansen hey, thanks for enlightening me. appreciate it

[JesusTittyFuck]

this is stupid

[RastaMastaKonTiki]

@JesusTittyFuck This coming from a guy with the username "JesusTittyFuck"....

[KeypitSurreal]

5 people don't like serial killers.

[itdoell]

@KeypitSurreal lol this is my favorite "x people _____" to date.

[vinhle72]

Deer Tick - Clownin' Around

[cgragnano]

almost made me cry



[PACZKii]

who knew a song about a child molesting serial killer would be so fucking amazing

[darkaurora11]

some faggot sent me

[MrZizbang]

@darkaurora11 ObviouslyJesus?

[Breezy2Freshv3]

@MrZizbang ObivouslyJesus > Woody

[omgwtfbbq116]

this is planet earth at it's best. simply amazing

[rbh1138]

This song has stuff about Gacy but its actually not about him. Its about what it says in the bible about sin being equal. "In my best behavior I'm really just like him, look beneath the floor boards for the secrets I have hid."

[blaketheironman]

@rbh1138 dude read the desciption. Does the writer of the song say anything about the bible? No... nice try.. This ENTIRE song is about Gacy. You just took a sentence from the song that could be applied to a broad range of subjects and said it was about the bible... If thats how you like to interpret this song then awesome go for it but don't state something like its a fact when its...not? Damn good song....

[rbh1138]

@blaketheironman Actually most songs in Seven Swans are religious based. As is many of his other songs. He even helps his Pastor with his music duo. Welcome Wagon. Sufjan may not be a "Christian artist" but he is inspired by Christianity since he is one. So maybe you should learn more about Sufjan before you attack me.

[blaketheironman]

@rbh1138 Oh i never said he wasn't inspired by his religion did i? no i never said that. You were clearly implying that this song only has "stuff" about John Wayne Gacy but is really about Christianity. That is simply not the truth. People interpret things differently and thats great, but even if the one line in the song has an underlying religious theme doesn't mean that this song just has "stuff" about Gacy but is mostly about religion.

[blaketheironman]

@rbh1138 Once again look at the direct words from Sufjan in the description above. See anything about sin or religion? No sorry man. And don't get me wrong i wasn't attacking you because of religion, i was simply correcting your false statement. :)

[xOhaiDerrLove13]

@rbh1138 This is about a serial killer named John Wayne Gacy, Jr. He killed a ton of little boys. lol.

[dampel6]

listen to this while reading his Wiki and tell me you don't get chills!

[lovegoodmadness]

Does Sufjan Stevens remind anyone else of Paul Simon (Simon and Garfunkel)? Or Peter, Paul and Mary? I'm so addicted to him, and he really reminds me of them...I wonder if they are influences of his?

[cryppl3th3kyd]

This song is so sad and beautiful, it depicts one of the most disturbing serial killers of all time but does it in such a meaningful and elegant way that you can't help but cry.

[RawrAttackAttack]

You know a song is brilliant when it manages to sound so beautiful even with it's devastating subject.

[chortles48]

It takes a very skilled musician to actually generate fear in the listener through his music, and this song does just that.

[123443567]

those last few verses feel so true to me

[biospherearcadia]

Sufjan rules

[StudioScarecrow]

Chilling...

I feel really uncomfortable listening to this song but I think that was the intent.

[spacedoginnebraska]

and I get ads to the left for Men in Omaha........nice...........fu­cking sick bastids.

[ePunkSawyer]

Ending of Nip/tuck Episode 3x06 .

[ePunkSawyer]

a Wonderful song... ♥

[xrockxmusicx]

It doesn't matter about Sufjan "making money off of the murders." Is is any different from his christian songs in which he "makes money off of christianity"? He's not making money off of John Wayne Gacy. He's making money off of his beautiful voice, and ear for the chilling, amazing music he creates. His music has soul.. It shouldn't be about the profit he makes. Just because it portrays a story doesn't mean it has to be a copy of what actually happened. Sufjan Stevens forever.<3

[jkbosh]

@icykyl there are two possibilities here. one, he's not good at writing songs that deal with serious social problems, or two that he idolizes john wayne gary. i'll take either one, cause while sufjan has written some catchy tunes his music mostly screams i'm a douchebag.

[jkbosh]

look the real problem here is that sufjan stevens is shallow and doesn't have a deep take on any particular topic outside of how he identifies emotionally. this is fine when you're talking about your friends, but it just doesn't work on serious topics like john wayne gacy.

he clearly has no idea how to approach this topic, and somehow makes killing children sound twee & nostalgic. let's not mistake this as sympathetic to gacy, but it does point to major holes in steven's artistic range.

[Avantyawn]

This song adds a humanity to the notion of Gacy that he didn't possess. Starting the song explaining his troubled childhood humanizes him in a way that makes me uncomfortable. Gacy doesn't deserve our compassion. I think the songs intention comes from a sincere and heartfelt place, yet, in action I find it exploitative, probably unintentionally so. The truth is Stevens is profiting off an album with a song about Gacy, and thus profiting from Gacy's murders.

[IElrekkaI]

@Avantyawn Thats a rather unfair way of looking at it. We all know he didn't write the song with the intention of profiting from the murders. He just wanted to apply those incidents and form some kind of artistic interpretation of it all.

[Avantyawn]

@IElrekkaI If you read m original quote " I think the songs intention comes from a sincere and heartfelt place, yet, in action I find it exploitative, probably unintentionally so". I didn't say he intended to profit of the murders, in fact, I went so far as to say his exploitation was probably unintentional. However, he is profiting off the murders , whether he intended to or not! But my bigger problem really isn't the profit, but how his approach of the subject comes off inappropriately

[AlyReality]

my teacher used to sing this song in class. I was in goddam 4th grade!!

[TheDixieFlatline22]

I like to interpret this song completely separated from whatever Christian connotations it may or may not have.

I think it's just an amazing little snapshot of the human condition. We all have disturbing impulses, thoughts, fantasies, some of us more than others. Though most people don't go down the dark and slippery slope of a serial killer, how we act with others often seems like nothing more than an empty facade- a thick layer of clown paint to hide an almost ever-present shame.

[urmomscookiemonsterr]

so touching, & deffinately chilling.

[illegallyanonymous]

This song is so amazing. The man it was written about and the subtext in the lyrics might just be able to give me nightmares for a few weeks to a couple months. Horrible.

[Noise509]

This songs so good but it's about such a horrible man

[jtdswhc]

@Noise509 *mentally ill

[Noise509]

@jtdswhc call him what you want. he raped, tortured, and murdered 33 innocent young men.

[emmyrae42]

And in my best behavior

I am really just like him

Look beneath the floorboards

For the secrets I have hid.

God says that no sin can be worse than another. This song really makes you think about your life. I cried and cried when I heard this song.

[Malucodemez]

@emmyrae42 I think that's really what the end message to this song is about. It's very beautiful, the way Sufjan says this. It's like he's saying "I am no better than this man" in essence maybe he's saying "Only God can judge him, and me"

[emmyrae42]

@Malucodemez I totally agree! But the most important thing is - Jesus paid for our sins. And I'm soo thankful for that! I can't imagine how it would feel to not know that, you would probably feel like crap. I love my parents so much for showing me, and teaching me what Jesus did for me. "Jesus paid it all, all to him I owe, sin had left a crimson stand, he washed it white as snow".

[SLC2509]

If people actually knew what the song was about I highly doubt they'd be saying how awesome it is....this song is wrote about one of the most fucked up assholes in the world.

[MsGollgolli]

On December 22,1978, Gacy finally confessed to police that he killed at least 30 people and buried most of the remains of the victims beneath the crawl space of his house. He further confessed that he would lure his victims into being handcuffed and then he would sexually assault them. To muffle the screams of his victims, he would stuff a sock or underwear into their mouths "Evil can hide anywhere... even in a man who on the surface was someone that everyone loved"

[SLC2509]

@MsGollgolli It was the victims clothing he would stuff in their mouths or he'd use chlorophyll to knock them out . Sick fuck is all I can say.... The two movies I just watched have me very creeped out..

[mockingibrd2013]

Omfg so creepy and so good. OMFG.

[GrembyTheWalrus]

I just spent 15 minutes on Wikipedia reading about all of the murders John Wayne Gacy was involved in. Oh, and a great song, by the way.

[mmmbopgirl123]

@GrembyTheWalrus Ah! I did the same thing!

[fillXinXblankXstares]

@GrembyTheWalrus Saaaaaaaaame. It makes the song even better, if that makes sense in its own way...?

[Broden124]

@GrembyTheWalrus You didn't know about that shit already? Fuck off pleb.

[JamesVck]

@Broden124 You expect every human to know about every serial killer? What the fuck is the matter with you?

[GrembyTheWalrus]

@Broden124 Fuck off, /mu/fag.

[Spice938]

my god i have never heard any artist more revolutianary than Sufjan. his songs are the best i have ever heard. he is so articulate and inspiring. thanks for the upload this song is amazing. chills every time i hear it.

[solidheir]

@Spice938 "Articulate and inspiring" simple but most poigantly observed : D

[physalis17]

Amazing song.

[jeffreybiderpdee]

dude this is a seriously creepy fucking song

[elyacas16]

This song is so fucking awsome!!!!!!!

[MrNmmg]

Creepy lyrics with beautiful music

[WrapMeUp1]

favorite song by Stevens hands down.

[villasixx]

creepy