Songs Written in the Aftermath of Columbine | Playlist 🎧

1. Tyler, the Creator, “Pigs”

Wolf • Odd Future • 2013

“Geek…stupid loser, find a rope to hang… / I sit in my room and I listen to tunes, I’m amused alone / Cause none of the cool kids would let me join a team.” Tyler, the Creator characterizes the picture of a social outcast bluntly. In a tweet about the song “Pigs” from his 2013 album, Wolf, he asserts that Columbine perpetrators Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold inspired “Pigs.”

The retribution that Tyler, the Creator, playing the role of perpetrator, is incredibly chilling.  He asserts at the end of the first verse, “…When I share these feelings finally, they gon’ fucking care.” The full-on evil is revealed, beginning on the hook as he asserts, he’ll “Gather all the bullies, crush them motherfuckers…” The second verse finds him threatening his bullies (“…I’mma keep them motherfuckers there and make sure they pass”), while on the third verse, he dispels the myth that music wasn’t the catalyzing source of the massacre (“I just really wanted somebody to come pay me attention / But nobody would listen…”). “Pigs” also appears on Songs About Mass Murderers, Vol. 1.

2-3. Marilyn Manson, “Disposable Teens” & “The Nobodies”

Holy Wood • Interscope • 2000

As aforementioned, musical influence was questioned in regards to the Columbine massacre.  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.  Author Graham Hartmann asserts that Manson was “likely commenting on the events aftermath, along with referencing George Orwell’s ‘Nineteen Eighty-Four.’” Safe to say, there’s nothing ‘warm and fuzzy’ about “Disposable Teens.”

On the second verse, the disposable teen gives thanks.

“I 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.”

On the chorus, he sings:

“You said you wanted evolution
The ape was a great big hit
You say you want a revolution man
And I say that you’re full of shit.”

Lyrically, Marilyn Manson is always captivating.  Here, he seems to be repudiating the actions of Harris and Klebold, whom he was blamed for influencing. “Disposable Teens” also appears on Songs About Mass Murderers, Vol. 1. “Disposable Teens” wasn’t the only song with ties/influence of the Columbine Massacre from Holy Wood.  “The Nobodies” also loosely references the horrid event.  “The Nobodies” is approached from the perspective of the perpetrators.

“Today I’m dirty
I want to be pretty
Tomorrow, I know I’m just dirty.”

“We are the nobodies
We wanna be somebodies
When we’re dead
They’ll know just who we are.”

The most specific reference to Columbine itself occurs later in the song:

“Some 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.”

4. Alice Cooper, “Wicked Young Man”

Brutal Planet • Indieblu Music •2000

“Nothing’s Shocking” 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 “based on the killings at Columbine High School”. In an article for Chron, Michael Moore speaks about the song “Wicked Young Man” specifically: “One of the songs on the album, ‘Wicked Young Man,’ creates a character for the dark world by combine elements from the move American History X with gruesome recollections from the murders at Columbine.”

Cooper gives a chilling description of the dangers of hatred.  He first clarifies that it’s not outside influences, but pure wickedness.

“I 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.”

Cooper doesn’t stop there.  He cites specific examples of fuel for the fire:

“I got every kind of chemical pumpin’ through my head
I read Mein Kampf daily just to keep my hatred fed
I never ever sleep I just lay in my bed
Dreamin’ of the day when everyone is dead.”

“Wicked Young Man” also appears on Songs About Mass Murderers, Vol. 1.

5. The Orwells, “Hallway Homicide”

Remember When • Autumn Tone • 2012

Punk-/garage-rock band The Orwells capture the horror of the Columbine Massacre in “Hallway Homicide.”  This song is taken from the perspective of perpetrators, essentially shedding light on the mindset of a school shooter.

“Cartridge 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 don’t know what’s gonna happen! Oh no, they don’t know, well, look who’s laughin’!”

“Lunch room exploded, my gun met her lips!
Well, she can’t 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.”

6. Superchick, “Hero”

Last One Picked • Inpop • 2002

Eclectic Christian rock band Superchick delivered their own response to the events at Columbine.  Essentially, on “Hero,” they aim for bigger picture thinking – 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.

“No on sits with him, he doesn’t 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
It’s 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.”

7. Five Iron Frenzy, “A New Hope”

All the Hype That Money Can Buy • 5 Minute Walk • 2000 

Five Iron Frenzy is a Christian ska band from Denver, Colorado.  Geographically, Denver isn’t far from Littleton, Colorado, the site of the tragic school massacre.  “A New Hope” served as the band’s response to the events.

“Amy’s going back to school today… Did the halls smell
Of gunpowder still
What made the human mind
Dark enough to kill?”

“A 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?”

8. Flyleaf, “Cassie”

Flyleaf • Interscope • 2007

Rock band Flyleaf go in a different direction with their response to Columbine.  Their song, “Cassie,” was written about a Columbine victim, Cassie Bernall. Cassie was famously known for her unapologetic Christian beliefs.  Essentially, she had the opportunity to denounce God in order to save her life.  Instead, she held strong to her beliefs, and was ultimately killed.

“The question was asked in order
To save her life or take it
The answer ‘No’ to avoid death
The answer ‘Yes’ would make it.”

“‘Do you believe in God?’
Written on the bullet
Say ‘Yes’ to pull the trigger
‘Do you believe in God?’
Written on the bullet
And Cassie pulled the trigger.”

“She answered him knowing what would happen…”

9. Michael W. Smith, “This is Your Time”

This Is Your Time • Reunion • 1999

“This Is Your Time,” the title track from a 1999 album by renowned CCM singer/songwriter Michael W. Smith, was also inspired by Cassie Bernall.  According to Smith, “This Is Your Time” “…Is a challenge for us all to recognize through Cassie’s life, that now is our time to stand up and live life unabashedly for God.” 

“It 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.”

“This 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.”

“What if tomorrow and what if today
Faced with the question oh, what would you say?”

10. Filter, “Columind”

The Amalgamut • Reprise • 2002

Industrial rock band Filter had a lot say about the events at Columbine High School.  From the jump, the tone is incredibly accusatory and biting towards the perpetrators.

“What do you think you did here, kid?
You’re living like some rich kid bitch
The scratch that makes you flinch
The scratch that you can’t itch
What do you think you got done here, man?
You’re putting on a show
What do you think you got done here, kid?
Did you reach your killing goal?”

Essentially, Filter paints Harris and Klebold as despicable, entitled kids, without specifically naming them on “Columind.” Unlike some of the other songs, there are no sympathetic vibes to be found.

“Oh, Christ, look at them bleed
Oh, what makes this sick disease?
Oh God, they’re on their hands and knees
Oh, look at me, I’m about to be free.”

11. Ill Bill, “The Anatomy of a School Shooting”

What’s Wrong with Bill? • Uncle Howie • 2004

Question: What wrong with Bill? Another question: Who is Ill Bill? Ill Bill is a Queens, New York rapper and producer.  Here, on “The Anatomy of a School Shooting,” he specifically references the Columbine Massacre. “The anatomy of a school shooting, shotgun under my trench coat / Columbiners did it / …My mind consume the doom as I walk through the school 15 people killed and over 14 wounded.”

Unlike many of the songs written in the aftermath of Columbine, Bill specifically names the perpetrators.  He focuses on Eric Harris, painting a portrait of Harris’ social status and mindset.

“My 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 wantin’ to murder people
Suicide is played out, if you gonna die, take people with you.”

“A bunch of ticking time bombs y'all, is more like me Overflowin’ 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 fuckin’ with might flip.”

Perhaps the most hard-hitting lyrics arrive near the end of record.  Essentially, Ill Bill establishes the reasons for the tragedy, from the perspective of Harris, and other potential school shooters.

“Now everybody wanna talk shit and cry asking why
Two geeks picked up guns and turned murderous…
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 blastin’
I wasn't crazy - all of y'all were sick
I was the nicest person in the world – 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.”

12-13. Eminem, “The Way I Am” & “I’m Back”

The Marshall Mathers LP  • Interscope • 2000

Back in the day, was there anybody more controversial than Eminem? No. The rapper was as unapologetic as they come.  His ‘real talk’ was ahead of his time, yet still rings as controversial years later.  On “The Way I Am,” he references the Columbine school shooting without explicating naming the school, perpetrators, or victims.  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.

“When a dude’s getting bullied and shoots up his school
And they blame it on Marilyn and the heroin
Where were the parents at? And look where it’s at!
Middle America, now it’s a tragedy
Now it’s so sad to see, an upper-class city havin’ this happening…”

“The Way I Am” wasn’t the only reference of Columbine on The Marshall Mathers LP.  “I’m Back” actually mentioned the school’s name and referenced shooting bullies… Controversial to the nth degree.  The word “kids” and “Columbine” is actually [censored] in every version – explicit or amended – of “I’m Back.”

“I take seven [...] from [...]
Stand ‘em all in line, add an AK-47, a revolver, a 9
A MAC-11 and it oughta solve the problem of mine
And that’s a school of bullies shot up all at one time.” 

14. Pearl Jam, “Rival”

Binaural • Epic • 2000

Veteran grunge band Pearl Jam join the response game on “Rival.”  “Rival” wasn’t necessarily written specifically about Columbine, but addresses issues raised in the aftermath regarding gun control.

“All my rivals will see what I have in store
My gun
I’ve been harboring fleets in this reservoir
Red sun
And this nation’s about to explode.”

“…As we release this unspeakable toll.”

15. Foster the People, “Pumped Up Kicks”

Torches • Sony • 2011

Foster the People have one giant hit to their name: “Pumped Up Kicks.”  Surprisingly, that one hit is more controversial than it seems. It wasn’t written specifically about Columbine, but part of it seems inspired by it. It’s about school shooter!

“Robert’s got a quick hand
He’ll look around the room, he won’t tell you his plan.”

“Yeah, he found a six-shooter gun
In his dad’s closet, in the box of fun things… He’s coming for you, yeah, he’s coming for you.”

“All the other kids with the pumped-up kicks
You better run, better run, outrun my gun… You better run, better run, faster than my bullet.”

16. Nicole Dollanganger, “Rampage”

Observatory Mansions • Nicole Dollanganger • 2014

Nicole Dollanganger is a Canadian singer/songwriter.  There are some dark elements to her work, particularly judging her 2014 song, “Rampage.” It has Columbine written all over it, without explicitly saying so.

“Black combat boots pacing in through the school building
He’s gonna fight the good fight, the noble war…”

In this particular quote, the boyfriend – the school shooter – has a ‘mighty love’ concerning his gun.

“Yeah my baby has a baby but it’s not me
It’s an AK47 semi-automatic gun and
He loves her more than he loves me.”

Apparently, the girlfriend is filled with utter delusion herself, judging by the end of the following line:

“Gunslinger, black duster, delusions of a western
He wears his hat on backwards, sets fire to his locker
He’s gonna fight the good fight, the noble war.”

If there was any doubt about the Columbine connections, the following quote confirms it’s a thing.

“I bet you’ve never seen the smile of savage-Springfield 67H
With his blurry face and cracked voice gone through the VHS tapes.”

17. Nicole Dollanganger, “Lividity”

Flowers of Flesh and Blood • Nicole Dollanganger • 2012

Before Nicole Dollanganger released “Rampage,” there was “Lividity.” Again, there’s Columbine influence all over this one.  This song is taken from the perverse perspective of the perpetrator.

“Find no love in flesh, but only weapons
The ones that do the most damage
There is no peace in life but only in death.”

“… I only love the things that I can hurt”

“Taking baths in all of the bloodshed
From the shards I put into your head
I’ll shoot and break my nose from the blow.”

18. Amanda Palmer, “Strength Through Music”

Who Killed Amanda Palmer • Roadrunner • 2008

“Tick-tick-tick-tick-tick.” Amanda Palmer seems to suggest that Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, the perpetrators of the devastating Columbine High School Massacre were “ticking time bombs.” While “Strength Through Music” isn’t an explicit tone poem to the horrors the massacre, it’s patterned after where a potential perpetrator’s mindset.  This perspective includes the murderer being “locked in his bedroom,” seeing “a web of answers and cumshot girls”.  Palmer lyrically highlights the debates surrounding the influences of Harris and Klebold, including video games, guns. Also, she cleverly makes reference to music via “He picked a soundtrack,” and perhaps more disturbingly, “He hung his Walkman around his neck.”  The most chilling lyrics occur on the fourth and final verse, as the perpetrator experiences no emotions as he kills.

“It’s so simple
The way they fall
No cry, no whimper
No sound at all.”

19. The Calling, “One by One”

Two • RCA • 2004

“And now the power of one human being / Has gone and changed so many lives…” “One by One” serves as the opening song from Two, the 2004 sophomore album from off-and-on again Los Angeles, California rock band, The Calling.  Of Two, AllMusic reviewer Johnny Loftus didn’t have many kind words, ultimately giving the album just one-and-half-stars out of five – ouch!  He also didn’t praise the song at hand, which according to frontman Alex Band, “One by One” was written about the Columbine High School massacre.

“His hair is long, and it’s twisted, it’s 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, who’s the man, with the plan
Eating up all that he can?
Don’t you see, don't you see...”

20. Michale Graves, “Nobody Thinks About Me”

Return to Earth • Horror High • 2006

“Good morning Columbine / I’ll get to my agenda / Fourth Period, Jesus Christ / I’m the one you terrorize.”  Michale Graves, like Amanda Palmer earlier, examines the mindset of the perpetrators as opposed to the victims.  Neither Eric Harris or Dylan Klebold are named explicitly on “Nobody Thinks About Me” but there’s no doubt this song is about the tragic incident that shook everybody.  Notably, Michale Graves highlights the disillusionment, loneliness, and social isolation of the perpetrators.  The titular lyric is the key lyric, repeated numerous times throughout the song.

“Good afternoon, goodbye
I’ll get to my agenda
Gonna be the enemy
Gonna smile and destroy.”