The Gospel Singer

Album: Big Sexy Noise (2009)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • Lydia Lunch calls her music "punish rock," which is like punk rock, but a lot less refined. "The Gospel Singer" is one of her musical horror stories, telling the story of a deranged little girl who kills kittens and is likely to take down her father next.

    The song is loosely inspired by the 1968 novel The Gospel Singer by Harry Crews, who often set his stories in the American South. Lydia Lunch and Kim Gordon of Sonic Youth formed an all-girl band called Harry Crews that released an album inspired by his books in 1987.
  • Lunch wrote this song with Kim Gordon. They're longtime collaborators, with Lunch teaming with Sonic Youth on the group's 1984 song "Death Valley '69" before forming the band Harry Crews.
  • This is one of Lydia Lunch's favorite songs in her vast catalog. "It's badass boogie," she told Songfacts. "Sometimes you just have to get raunchy."
  • Lunch recorded this with Big Sexy Noise, one of her many bands.
  • Lunch sings this in a southern accent, which isn't native: She was raised in Rochester, New York, and lived in Los Angeles and Brooklyn. She says the song "Brings out the Southern white trash in me," adding, "I've got a little bit of that and I'm not even from the South."

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Randy Houser

Randy HouserSongwriter Interviews

The "How Country Feels" singer talks Skynyrd and songwriting.

Brian Kehew: The Man Behind The Remasters

Brian Kehew: The Man Behind The RemastersSong Writing

Brian has unearthed outtakes by Fleetwood Mac, Aretha Franklin, Elvis Costello and hundreds of other artists for reissues. Here's how he does it.

80s Video Director Jay Dubin

80s Video Director Jay DubinSong Writing

Billy Joel and Hall & Oates hated making videos, so they chose a director with similar contempt for the medium. That was Jay Dubin, and he has a lot to say on the subject.

Christmas Songs

Christmas SongsFact or Fiction

Rudolf, Bob Dylan and the Singing Dogs all show up in this Fact or Fiction for seasonal favorites.

Julian Lennon

Julian LennonSongwriter Interviews

Julian tells the stories behind his hits "Valotte" and "Too Late for Goodbyes," and fills us in on his many non-musical pursuits. Also: what MTV meant to his career.

Neal Smith - "I'm Eighteen"

Neal Smith - "I'm Eighteen"They're Playing My Song

With the band in danger of being dropped from their label, Alice Cooper drummer Neal Smith co-wrote the song that started their trek from horror show curiosity to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.