Dead (Pixies song)

Song infobox
Name = Dead


Artist = Pixies
Album = Doolittle
Released = April 17, 1989 (UK)
April 18, 1989 (US)
track_no = 6
Recorded = October 31–November 23, 1988 at Downtown Recorders in Boston, Massachusetts
Genre = Alternative rock
Indie rock
Length = 2:21
Writer = Black Francis
Label = 4AD (UK)
Elektra Records (US)
Producer = Gil Norton
prev = "Here Comes Your Man"
prev_no = 5
next = "Monkey Gone to Heaven"
next_no = 7"Dead" is an alternative rock song by the American band Pixies, written and sung by the band's frontman Black Francis. It is the sixth track on their 1989 album "Doolittle". The song describes the biblical David and Bathsheba story (from II Samuel) from the viewpoint of David. [Sisario, Ben. Doolittle. Continuum, 2006 (33⅓ series). ISBN 0-8264-1774-4. p. 92]

Francis has described the story of the song:

:OK, there's this gal, there's this big powerful guy, he sees her bathing on the rooftop. He's so smitten with her beauty that he must have her. He sends his thugs to go get her, so he can bed her.... She becomes pregnant and sure that she's going to become his wife. Her husband Uriah is a military commander in his army, and he ensures that Uriah is put into the heat of battle and killed in battle.... So it's kind of his downfall. He goes from being a great person who's respected by everyone, being spiritual and close to God, to being a murderer, a rapist, and out of control. [Sisario. pp. 92-93.]

Music

"Dead" is driven by Santiago's lead guitar, which clashes with Francis' rhythm part in the chorus. The time signature of the song alternates between 6/4 and 4/4. [Sisario, 2006. p. 93]

Notes and references