4 Famous Songs That Are Actually Inspired by Serial Killers

Plenty of huge hit songs through the years have had unconventional inspirations. However, nothing tops these four famous songs that were inspired by real-life serial killers and true crime. Let’s take a look, shall we?

1. “Nebraska” by Bruce Springsteen

This haunting song that gave Bruce Springsteen his big break is actually about a real-life murder spree that occurred in Nebraska back in the day. Springsteen’s tune tells the tale of Charles Starkweather, a 19-year-old man who went on a murder spree in the late 1950s with his 14-year-old girlfriend. 

Starkweather never really gave a motive for the increasingly violent and cruel crimes he committed before being apprehended, but Springsteen’s final line puts a dark period at the end of the story: “They want to know why I did what I did / Well, sir, I guess there’s just a meanness in this world.”

2. “Midnight Rambler” by The Rolling Stones

You’ve probably heard this entry on our list of songs inspired by serial killers at least once or twice. The Rolling Stones penned this tune in the late 1960s about the Boston Strangler. 

For those not in the know, the Boston Strangler was a serial killer who murdered at least 11 different people in the early 1960s. The criminal behind the heinous acts has never been found. The Stones’ “Midnight Rambler” is an almost sickening depiction of the crimes, making it one of the band’s darkest songs from their discography.

3. “Son Of Sam” by Elliott Smith

Singer/songwriter legend Elliott Smith was no stranger to writing songs about the morbid and depressing, and “Son Of Sam” is no exception. This song was written about real-life serial killer David Berkowitz, who terrorized New York City in the 1970s. Going by the monicker “Son Of Sam”, Berkowitz killed six people. He claimed that his neighbor’s dog, possessed by a sort of demon, made him shoot people. 

Smith’s telling of the tale presents the listener with the reality that all people are capable of good and evil, even to extremes.

4. “In Germany Before The War” by Randy Newman

Out of all the songs inspired by serial killers on this list, Randy Newman’s troubling story follows the real-life crimes of a very distant time. Newman’s “In Germany Before The War” explores the crimes of German serial killer Peter Kürten. He was also known as The Vampire Of Düsseldorf. He claimed the lives of (at least) nine people in the 1910s and 1920s. Newman tells the tale in a way that sounds like poetry, or some sort of pulpy novel.

Photo by Rick Diamond/Getty Images

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