Son of Sam

"Son of Sam" is a single by American singer-songwriter Elliott Smith, released on April 11, 2000 as the second and final single from his fifth studio album, Figure 8. The song was not about the real life "Son of Sam", serial killer David Berkowitz. Smith explained, "It's not about the serial killer. I'm not sure exactly what it's about because it's just sort of like telling someone a dream you had last night. There are some destructive figures in it, 'Son of Sam', Shiva... but Shiva's also associated with creativity... I'm not sure... it's just an impressionistic song about destruction and creativity, I guess; if it's about anything." An acoustic version appears as a B-side on Smith's first single from Figure 8, "Happiness".