You think I'm psycho don't you, Mama?
You'd better let 'em lock me up.
Eddie Noack's 1968 (I think) cult-hit country song “Psycho” is probably inappropriate to sing to your child as they fall asleep. But, if they can't understand the lyrics, then how much does it really matter? Good thing I don’t have to make that decision as I don’t have children.
A song about a serial killer written in the first-person, one year before the Manson murders, is pretty chilling. There was a darkness about the time that only some felt, and most today don’t really consider. The “flowers in your hair” era was a thinly veiled disguise for what was truly one of the darkest times in America’s history. Just in 1968, the assassinations of MLK and RFK, the Tet Offensive, and the 1968 presidential election all took place. It’s no wonder America’s youth decided to “turn on, tune in, and drop out” with their country’s soundtrack humming the hymn of death.
“Psycho” was a foreshadowing piece of what would largely come into play in the 70’s with regards to horror films like The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and gritty cerebral dramas like Taxi Driver. The song preceded a decade that would answer any of the optimistic aspirations of the Beat generation with a more nihilistic worldview. “Psycho” would also describe the would-be “serial killer” psychology, a term that wasn’t coined or really studied until the 70s with the rise of celebrity killers like Ted Bundy and David Berkowitz.
Even today, a song like “Psycho” wouldn’t be able to make it to the mainstream. Its violent lyrics and theme remain thought-provoking and shocking, despite it being a musically traditional country song.
Give it a listen!
