Son of Sam (song)

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"Son of Sam"

Single by Elliott Smith
from the album Figure 8
Released	November 14, 2000
Format	7", CD
Genre	Indie rock
Length	3:04
Label	DreamWorks
Writer(s)	Elliott Smith
Elliott Smith singles chronology
"Happiness" (1999)	"Son of Sam" (2000)	"Pretty (Ugly Before)" (2003)
Figure 8 track listing
"Son of Sam" "Somebody That I Used to Know" "Junk Bond Trader" "Everything Reminds Me of Her" "Everything Means Nothing to Me" "L.A." "In the Lost and Found (Honky Bach)/The Roost" "Stupidity Tries" "Easy Way Out" "Wouldn't Mama Be Proud?" "Color Bars" "Happiness/The Gondola Man" "Pretty Mary K" "I Better Be Quiet Now" "Can't Make a Sound" "Bye"

"Son of Sam" is a song written by Elliott Smith. It was released on his fifth studio album Figure 8 in April 2000, and then as a single in November 2000.

The song was possibly inspired by the real life "Son of Sam", serial killer David Berkowitz, though Elliott himself disputed this, saying the song was about failed relationships. The lyrics "the couple killer each and every time" and "the couple killer running out of time" seem to reference the fact that Berkowitz repeatedly shot at young couples.

The phrase "lonely leered... disappear" recurs in "In the Lost and Found (Honky Bach)", another song on Figure 8.

An acoustic version of "Son of Sam" appears as a b-side on the "Happiness" single.

1 Live
2 Music video
3 Track listings
- 3.1 CD single
- 3.2 7" single
4 Trivia

[edit] Live

Elliott performed "Son of Sam" live on tour in support of the album, both with an electric band and solo with an acoustic guitar.^[1] Notably, he performed it with a band on Late Night with Conan O'Brien on April 21, 2000.

[edit] Music video

A music video was directed by Autumn DeWilde for the song, featuring intermittent black and white stop frames. Smith is seen following a red balloon that moves by itself; this concept resembles that of the 1956 French film The Red Balloon.