Numerous songs have been written in the aftermath of the Columbine Massacre.Ā This playlist explores 20 songs written in the aftermath.
WWhatās the first thing that comes to mind when the word Columbine is uttered? For those old enough to remember, and perhaps not from Colorado, itās the Columbine Massacre that took place in 1999. This incident certainly wasnāt the first school shooting to occur, but it remains the deadliest high school shooting to date.Ā Furthermore, it seemed unlikely. Littleton, Colorado?
The perpetrators were seniors Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold. Both were supposedly bullied, though the allegations they were social outcasts seem to be disputed. Nonetheless, they killed 13 ā 12 of which were students ā before committing suicide. In addition to the fatalities, there were many more injured.Ā A most gruesome, chilling event.
Following the Columbine Massacre, America was unsettled, expectedly. There was debate about gun control, naturally.Ā Also, there were questions about what influenced these teens to commit this mass murder. Was it the influence of Marilyn Manson? Did the purported bullying drive them over the edge?Ā Additionally, musically, numerous artists were affected by this event.Ā Numerous songs have been written in the aftermath.Ā This playlist explores 20 songs written in the aftermath of Columbine.
1. Tyler, the Creator, āPigsā
Wolf ā¢ Odd Future ā¢ 2013
āGeekā¦stupid loser, find a rope to hangā¦ / I sit in my room and I listen to tunes, Iām amused alone / Cause none of the cool kids would let me join a team.ā Tyler, the Creator characterizes the picture of a social outcast bluntly. In a tweet about the song āPigsā from his 2013 album, Wolf, he asserts that Columbine perpetrators Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold inspired āPigs.ā
I Made A Song With Dylan And Eric In Mind Called 'Pigs'. Its On WOLF. Today Is 14 Years Since. Check That Song Out If You're Bored….
— T (@tylerthecreator) April 20, 2013
The retribution that Tyler, the Creator, playing the role of perpetrator, is incredibly chilling.Ā He asserts at the end of the first verse, āā¦When I share these feelings finally, they gonā fucking care.ā The full-on evil is revealed, beginning on the hook as he asserts, heāll āGather all the bullies, crush them motherfuckersā¦ā The second verse finds him threatening his bullies (āā¦Iāmma keep them motherfuckers there and make sure they passā), while on the third verse, he dispels the myth that music wasnāt the catalyzing source of the massacre (āI just really wanted somebody to come pay me attention / But nobody would listenā¦ā). āPigsā also appears on Songs About Mass Murderers, Vol. 1.
2-3. Marilyn Manson, āDisposable Teensā & āThe Nobodiesā
Holy Wood ā¢ Interscope ā¢ 2000
As aforementioned, musical influence was questioned in regards to the Columbine massacre.Ā The chief artist blamed was Marilyn Manson. While ultimately it was myth, Manson responded with a song that Loudwire included in its list of Disturbing Songs People Love.Ā Author Graham Hartmann asserts that Manson was ālikely commenting on the events aftermath, along with referencing George Orwellās āNineteen Eighty-Four.āā Safe to say, thereās nothing āwarm and fuzzyā about āDisposable Teens.ā
On the second verse, the disposable teen gives thanks.
āI want to thank you mom I want to thank you dad For bringing this fucking world To a bitter end I never really hated the one true God But the God of the people I hated.ā
On the chorus, he sings:
āYou said you wanted evolution The ape was a great big hit You say you want a revolution man And I say that youāre full of shit.ā
Lyrically, Marilyn Manson is always captivating.Ā Here, he seems to be repudiating the actions of Harris and Klebold, whom he was blamed for influencing. āDisposable Teensā also appears on Songs About Mass Murderers, Vol. 1. āDisposable Teensā wasnāt the only song with ties/influence of the Columbine Massacre from Holy Wood.Ā āThe Nobodiesā also loosely references the horrid event.Ā āThe Nobodiesā is approached from the perspective of the perpetrators.
āToday Iām dirty I want to be pretty Tomorrow, I know Iām just dirty.āāWe are the nobodies We wanna be somebodies When weāre dead Theyāll know just who we are.ā
The most specific reference to Columbine itself occurs later in the song:
āSome children died the other day We fed machines and then we prayed Puked up and down in morbid faith You should have seen the ratings that day.ā
4. Alice Cooper, āWicked Young Manā
Brutal Planet ā¢ Indieblu Music ā¢2000
āNothingās Shockingā in the hands of shock rocker Alice Cooper, right? Most of the time, but in this case, Cooper was rattled by the unfortunate, tragic events at Columbine High School. According to Post-Gazette, two songs from his 2000 album Brutal Planet were ābased on the killings at Columbine High Schoolā. In an article for Chron, Michael Moore speaks about the song āWicked Young Manā specifically: āOne of the songs on the album, āWicked Young Man,ā creates a character for the dark world by combine elements from the move American History XĀ with gruesome recollections from the murders at Columbine.ā
Cooper gives a chilling description of the dangers of hatred.Ā He first clarifies that itās not outside influences, but pure wickedness.
āI am a vicious young man, oh I am a wicked young man It's not the games that I play, the movies I see, the music I dig I'm just a wicked young man.ā
Cooper doesnāt stop there.Ā He cites specific examples of fuel for the fire:
āI got every kind of chemical pumpinā through my head I read Mein Kampf daily just to keep my hatred fed I never ever sleep I just lay in my bed Dreaminā of the day when everyone is dead.ā
āWicked Young Manā also appears on Songs About Mass Murderers, Vol. 1.
5. The Orwells, āHallway Homicideā
Remember When ā¢ Autumn Tone ā¢Ā 2012
Punk-/garage-rock band The Orwells capture the horror of the Columbine Massacre in āHallway Homicide.āĀ This song is taken from the perspective of perpetrators, essentially shedding light on the mindset of a school shooter.
āCartridge is loaded, my trench coat unzips Eyes on the clock and his hand on the grip Sawed off, Zoloft, the cocktail is lit Make his family proud he got a scholarship Oh no, they donāt know whatās gonna happen! Oh no, they donāt know, well, look whoās laughinā!āāLunch room exploded, my gun met her lips! Well, she canāt take it, stop throwing a fit! Popped off her top off in class where she sits Too down the class clown and saved the misfits.ā
6. Superchick, āHeroā
Last One Picked ā¢ Inpop ā¢Ā 2002
Eclectic Christian rock band Superchick delivered their own response to the events at Columbine.Ā Essentially, on āHero,ā they aim for bigger picture thinking ā how could this tragedy be prevented? Superchick focuses on the treatment of others, specifically in this case, the treatment of perpetrators Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold.
āNo on sits with him, he doesnāt fit in But we feel like we do when we make fun of him Cause you want to belong do you go along Cause his pain is the price paid for you to belong Itās not like you hate him or want him to die But maybe he goes home and thinks suicide Or he comes back to school with a gun at his side Any kindness from you might have saved his life.ā
7. Five Iron Frenzy, āA New Hopeā
All the Hype That Money Can Buy ā¢ 5 Minute Walk ā¢Ā 2000Ā
Five Iron Frenzy is a Christian ska band from Denver, Colorado.Ā Geographically, Denver isnāt far from Littleton, Colorado, the site of the tragic school massacre.Ā āA New Hopeā served as the bandās response to the events.
āAmyās going back to school todayā¦ Did the halls smell Of gunpowder still What made the human mind Dark enough to kill?āāA darker world lies behind this one Cryptic, it hides beneath perception We all saw it on that day Stunned, we stood stuttering What did the news say?ā
8. Flyleaf, āCassieā
Flyleaf ā¢ Interscope ā¢ 2007
Rock band Flyleaf go in a different direction with their response to Columbine.Ā Their song, āCassie,ā was written about a Columbine victim, Cassie Bernall. Cassie was famously known for her unapologetic Christian beliefs.Ā Essentially, she had the opportunity to denounce God in order to save her life.Ā Instead, she held strong to her beliefs, and was ultimately killed.
āThe question was asked in order To save her life or take it The answer āNoā to avoid death The answer āYesā would make it.āāāDo you believe in God?ā Written on the bullet Say āYesā to pull the trigger āDo you believe in God?ā Written on the bullet And Cassie pulled the trigger.āāShe answered him knowing what would happenā¦ā
9. Michael W. Smith, āThis is Your Timeā
This Is Your Time ā¢Ā Reunion ā¢ 1999
āThis Is Your Time,ā the title track from a 1999 album by renowned CCM singer/songwriter Michael W. Smith, was also inspired by Cassie Bernall.Ā According to Smith, āThis Is Your Timeā āā¦Is a challenge for us all to recognize through Cassieās life, that now is our time to stand up and live life unabashedly for God.āĀ
āIt was a test we could all hope to pass But none of us would want to take Faced with the choice to deny God to live For her, there was one choice to make.ā āThis was her time, this was her dance She lived every moment, left nothing to chance She swam in the sea, drank of the deep Embraced the mystery of all she could be.ā āWhat if tomorrow and what if today Faced with the question oh, what would you say?ā
10. Filter, āColumindā
The Amalgamut ā¢ Reprise ā¢ 2002
Industrial rock band Filter had a lot say about the events at Columbine High School. Ā From the jump, the tone is incredibly accusatory and biting towards the perpetrators.
āWhat do you think you did here, kid? Youāre living like some rich kid bitch The scratch that makes you flinch The scratch that you canāt itch What do you think you got done here, man? Youāre putting on a show What do you think you got done here, kid? Did you reach your killing goal?ā
Essentially, Filter paints Harris and Klebold as despicable, entitled kids, without specifically naming them on āColumind.ā Unlike some of the other songs, there are no sympathetic vibes to be found.
āOh, Christ, look at them bleed Oh, what makes this sick disease? Oh God, theyāre on their hands and knees Oh, look at me, Iām about to be free.ā
11. Ill Bill, āThe Anatomy of a School Shootingā
Whatās Wrong with Bill? ā¢ Uncle Howie ā¢ 2004
Question: What wrong with Bill? Another question: Who is Ill Bill? Ill Bill is a Queens, New York rapper and producer. Ā Here, on āThe Anatomy of a School Shooting,ā he specifically references the Columbine Massacre. āThe anatomy of a school shooting, shotgun under my trench coat / Columbiners did it / ā¦My mind consume the doom as I walk through the school 15 people killed and over 14 wounded.ā
Unlike many of the songs written in the aftermath of Columbine, Bill specifically names the perpetrators.Ā He focuses on Eric Harris, painting a portrait of Harrisā social status and mindset.
āMy name is Eric Harris, I was forever harassed, an outcast You fuck with us and now me and Dylan is pulling out gats I've been wantinā to murder people Suicide is played out, if you gonna die, take people with you.ā
āA bunch of ticking time bombs y'all, is more like me Overflowinā with hate, bullied to get raw like me They constantly get picked on and shitted on like me You'd probably get your head blown off by a kid like me... This ain't a game, the nerds that you be fuckinā with might flip.ā
Perhaps the most hard-hitting lyrics arrive near the end of record. Ā Essentially, Ill Bill establishes the reasons for the tragedy, from the perspective of Harris, and other potential school shooters.
āNow everybody wanna talk shit and cry asking why Two geeks picked up guns and turned murderousā¦ Two nerdy kids is that a crime? Why I've gotta be one of the cool kids just to walk by Without being tripped, thrown down on the ground and kicked Insulting me for no reason, I was treated like shit The teachers let it happen I've even seen some of them teachers laughing That's why I had a smile on my face when I started blastinā I wasn't crazy - all of y'all were sick I was the nicest person in the world ā y'all were dicks Don't even try to analyze me now you have no chance, back then Maybe you could've been my friend.ā
12-13. Eminem, āThe Way I Amā & āIām Backā
The Marshall Mathers LP Ā ā¢ Interscope ā¢ 2000
Back in the day, was there anybody more controversial than Eminem? No. The rapper was as unapologetic as they come.Ā His āreal talkā was ahead of his time, yet still rings as controversial years later.Ā On āThe Way I Am,ā he references the Columbine school shooting without explicating naming the school, perpetrators, or victims.Ā Still, he speaks on the social status and mindset of the shooters, unfounded blame (Marilyn Manson), and neglect in highlighting such incidents in less affluent parts of America.
āWhen a dudeās getting bullied and shoots up his school And they blame it on Marilyn and the heroin Where were the parents at? And look where itās at! Middle America, now itās a tragedy Now itās so sad to see, an upper-class city havinā this happeningā¦ā
āThe Way I Amā wasnāt the only reference of Columbine on The Marshall Mathers LP.Ā āIām Backā actually mentioned the schoolās name and referenced shooting bulliesā¦ Controversial to the nth degree. Ā The word ākidsā and āColumbineā is actually [censored] in every version ā explicit or amended ā of āIām Back.ā
āI take seven [...] from [...] Stand āem all in line, add an AK-47, a revolver, a 9 A MAC-11 and it oughta solve the problem of mine And thatās a school of bullies shot up all at one time.āĀ
14. Pearl Jam, āRivalā
Binaural ā¢ Epic ā¢Ā 2000
Veteran grunge band Pearl Jam join the response game on āRival.āĀ āRivalā wasnāt necessarily written specifically about Columbine, but addresses issues raised in the aftermath regarding gun control.
āAll my rivals will see what I have in store My gun Iāve been harboring fleets in this reservoir Red sun And this nationās about to explode.ā āā¦As we release this unspeakable toll.ā
15. Foster the People, āPumped Up Kicksā
Torches ā¢ Sony ā¢ 2011
Foster the People have one giant hit to their name: āPumped Up Kicks.āĀ Surprisingly, that one hit is more controversial than it seems. It wasnāt written specifically about Columbine, but part of it seems inspired by it. Itās about school shooter!
āRobertās got a quick hand Heāll look around the room, he wonāt tell you his plan.ā āYeah, he found a six-shooter gun In his dadās closet, in the box of fun thingsā¦ Heās coming for you, yeah, heās coming for you.ā
āAll the other kids with the pumped-up kicks You better run, better run, outrun my gunā¦ You better run, better run, faster than my bullet.ā
16. Nicole Dollanganger, āRampageā
Observatory Mansions ā¢ Nicole Dollanganger ā¢Ā 2014
Nicole Dollanganger is a Canadian singer/songwriter.Ā There are some dark elements to her work, particularly judging her 2014 song, āRampage.ā It has Columbine written all over it, without explicitly saying so.
āBlack combat boots pacing in through the school building Heās gonna fight the good fight, the noble warā¦ā
In this particular quote, the boyfriend ā the school shooter ā has a āmighty loveā concerning his gun.
āYeah my baby has a baby but itās not me Itās an AK47 semi-automatic gun and He loves her more than he loves me.ā
Apparently, the girlfriend is filled with utter delusion herself, judging by the end of the following line:
āGunslinger, black duster, delusions of a western He wears his hat on backwards, sets fire to his locker Heās gonna fight the good fight, the noble war.ā
If there was any doubt about the Columbine connections, the following quote confirms itās a thing.
āI bet youāve never seen the smile of savage-Springfield 67H With his blurry face and cracked voice gone through the VHS tapes.ā
17. Nicole Dollanganger, āLividityā
Flowers of Flesh and Blood ā¢ Nicole Dollanganger ā¢ 2012
Before Nicole Dollanganger released āRampage,ā there was āLividity.ā Again, thereās Columbine influence all over this one.Ā This song is taken from the perverse perspective of the perpetrator.
āFind no love in flesh, but only weapons The ones that do the most damage There is no peace in life but only in death.ā
āā¦ I only love the things that I can hurtā
āTaking baths in all of the bloodshed From the shards I put into your head Iāll shoot and break my nose from the blow.ā
18. Amanda Palmer, āStrength Through Musicā
Who Killed Amanda Palmer ā¢ Roadrunner ā¢ 2008
āTick-tick-tick-tick-tick.ā Amanda Palmer seems to suggest that Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, the perpetrators of the devastating Columbine High School Massacre were āticking time bombs.ā While āStrength Through Musicā isnāt an explicit tone poem to the horrors the massacre, itās patterned after where a potential perpetratorās mindset.Ā This perspective includes the murderer being ālocked in his bedroom,ā seeing āa web of answers and cumshot girlsā.Ā Palmer lyrically highlights the debates surrounding the influences of Harris and Klebold, including video games, guns. Also, she cleverly makes reference to music via āHe picked a soundtrack,ā and perhaps more disturbingly, āHe hung his Walkman around his neck.āĀ The most chilling lyrics occur on the fourth and final verse, as the perpetrator experiences no emotions as he kills.
āItās so simple The way they fall No cry, no whimper No sound at all.ā
19. The Calling, āOne by Oneā
Two ā¢ RCA ā¢ 2004
āAnd now the power of one human being / Has gone and changed so many lives…ā āOne by Oneā serves as the opening song from Two, the 2004 sophomore album from off-and-on again Los Angeles, California rock band, The Calling.Ā Of Two, AllMusic reviewer Johnny Loftus didnāt have many kind words, ultimately giving the album just one-and-half-stars out of five ā ouch!Ā He also didnāt praise the song at hand, which according to frontman Alex Band, āOne by Oneā was written about the Columbine High School massacre.
āHis hair is long, and itās twisted, itās twisted Around the smile spread cheek to cheek Another child, another soul, grabs a hold To the metal that will end his misery... In this deep dark, fucked up, played out, reality show So, whoās the man, with the plan Eating up all that he can? Donāt you see, don't you see...ā
20. Michale Graves, āNobody Thinks About Meā
Return to Earth ā¢ Horror High ā¢ 2006
āGood morning Columbine / Iāll get to my agenda / Fourth Period, Jesus Christ / Iām the one you terrorize.āĀ Michale Graves, like Amanda Palmer earlier, examines the mindset of the perpetrators as opposed to the victims.Ā Neither Eric Harris or Dylan Klebold are named explicitly on āNobody Thinks About Meā but thereās no doubt this song is about the tragic incident that shook everybody.Ā Notably, Michale Graves highlights the disillusionment, loneliness, and social isolation of the perpetrators.Ā The titular lyric is the key lyric, repeated numerous times throughout the song.
āGood afternoon, goodbye Iāll get to my agenda Gonna be the enemy Gonna smile and destroy.ā
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