Yep. Of course I did. Because when you're recording songs with no bandmates the songs are always a bitch to record. At least, that's my experience so far.
Still... you hear the drums? Hear the guitar?
No. That's because... wait for it... after we spent hours upon hours recording them, we tossed them in the garbage! I wanted to cry into my pillow that night, but I think it was the right thing to do. After much thought we decided that the drums and guitar were acting as the rhythm section, moving the song into a musical no-man's land and destroying whatever emotional value the piano line was adding.
Does it sound like I have my head up my ass? Sorry about that.
I'm well-aware that songs about Freddy Krueger don't have much 'emotional value'. But that's the funny thing about this song. I tried to make a ridiculous topic serious. The idea came to me one night when I was driving home. A song came on the radio: Don Henley's The Heart of the Matter.
Now, you might not like Don Henley and you might not like The Eagles. That's cool. I love The Eagles, but that's not the point. Don Henley is a great lyricist. And as an author - I write horror novels, for those that don't know - I'm attracted to lyrics.
The lyrics that knocked me off my feet were:
I've been tryin' to get down,
To the heart of the matter,
But my will gets weak,
And my thoughts seem to scatter
But I'm thinking about…
Forgiveness, forgiveness,
Even if… even if…
You don't love me anymore.
It's that last line: you don't love me anymore. It got me thinking, How about, 'You don't scare me anymore?'
And then I thought, what doesn't scare me anymore?
The answer came right away: Jason Voorhees, Michael Myers, Freddy Krueger…
I stopped on that last one, thinking, Freddy Krueger is SO NOT SCARY to me at this point. But he was. At one point, when I was a kid, that first film scared the shit out of me.
So, what happened?
The answer, at least to me, is this: Freddy got cheesy.
And then the thought came; the big one: what if I sang the song from Freddy's point of view and HE was the one seeking forgiveness, forgiveness… even if… even if… he does't scare you anymore…
By the time I arrived home the song was more or less written. It's an apology from Freddy Krueger to his fans, for getting so cheesy, so stupid, and so NOT SCARY. And that's the point of horror, remember? TO SCARE. Horror isn't about funny one-liners and an outrageous killing technique. It's about real people, real characters, emotion. And most of those sequels had none of that. Clearly, the people that were running the show were thinking things like, You know what would be a great way for Freddy to kill someone?
Honestly, could their be a worse way to write a story?
You fucked-up, Hollywood. Thank God Wes Craven took his creation back and tried to steer the ship with that New Nightmare film.
And for what it's worth, Freddy's sorry. He really is.
Here are the lyrics:
Got these knifes on the ends of my fingers; I was burned inside a fire.
At one time, the pain just lingered, after you left me to die.
I came back, hungry for murder; I snuffed out most of your kin.
Shouldn’t have stopped, let it be over, instead of playing myself too thin.
Even though, I’m deep in your dreams,
There’s something missing, inside your screams,
Even though, I’m deep in your dreams,
My situation is not what it seems,
Now I find that I try so much harder, just to achieve the same thrill.
To compensate, I attempt to be witty, instead of just enjoying the kill,
You might think that I’m stronger, but the truth is, I’m dying inside,
And every time I hide in the corner, it’s me that I’m attempting to hide.
Even though, I’m deep in your dreams,
There’s something missing, inside your screams,
Even though, I’m deep in your dreams,
My situation is not what it seems,
What would you think if tried something different,
Killed some children in an old fashion way?
No more knifes on the ends of my fingers,
No more wit when it’s their turn to pay.
Would you feel, the way that you used to,
All those years back in time?
I’m afraid; all you that would say,
That Freddy Krueger, you are just past your prime.
Even though, I’m deep in your dreams,
There’s something missing, inside your screams,
Even though, I’m deep in your dreams,
My situation is not what it seems,
The truth is... I just don’t scare you anymore.
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