AFI: Miss Murder Meaning

Song Released: 2006

Miss Murder Lyrics

Hey Miss Murder can I?
Hey Miss Murder can I?
Make beauty stay if I,
Take my life?

Whoa-oh-ohh

With just a look they shook
And heavens bowed before him.
Simply a look can break your heart.
The stars that pierce the sky;
He left them...

1. anonymous

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   Sep 1st 2006 !⃝

   Interesting how everyone is so off. Here is a link that might enlighten all of you. Read everything, and then you will be understand some of the songs. Enjoy.
   
   http://board.despairfaction.com/showthread.php?t=62451

   This interpretation has been marked as poor. view anyway
2. anonymous

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   Aug 31st 2006 !⃝

   Someone had said that rabbits symbolize death. I hadn't heard that before so I looked into it, and it seems that they symbolize a variety of characteristics, ranging from birth to death and from purity to promiscuity. These connotations conflict because of the myriad of cultures that find rabbits (and hares) meaningful.
   
   So what's the deal with rabbits and "miss murder"?
   It all depends on the context / culture with which you associate the rabbit.
   
   For more info etc., I suggest...
   Http://en.Wikipedia.Org/wiki/rabbit#rabbits_in_culture_and_literature
   http://www.Bunniwerks.Org/symbols.Htm
   http://www.Endicott-studio.Com/rdrm/rrrabbits.Html
   ^ particularly interesting in relation to decemberunderground's cover art
   
   all for now,
   danni
3. anonymous

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   Aug 29th 2006 !⃝

   Ok.... To add on to the very first one I made about the whole idea.... First of all if you want to have a review of hitlers end, watch the movie "downfall" and you will understand y this song is about hitler. And also miss murder could represent america, because america came at the very end of the war and might of decided the whole outcome of the war. Or if you watched the directors cut version of "miss murder", some guy named goebbels and his wife at the same bunker as hitler who were so loyal to hitler they decided to kill their own kids with poison capsules,
4. anonymous

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   Aug 21st 2006 !⃝

   This could very well be a reference to yukio mishima, as previously mentioned.
   
   He was a japanese author who committed ritual suicide (seppuku/harikari - slicing up/open one's stomach?) the year he was expected to win the noble prize. He and a group of 3 or 4 (either 4 or 5 total - corresponds with number of band members) men held a military leader (yukio and the others were also in the military, making access easy) hostage, tied to a chair, inside the tokyo headquarters of a branch of the japanese military. While he was being held, yukio mishima made a pre-prepared speech on the balcony calling for the restoration (this is post world-war ii) of the japanese emperor and of japan as a nation. He then went inside, sliced his stomach open, and was also ritually decapitated. Some of the others in his group did the same. This all occured on november 25th, 1970 - meaning mishima would have "spent december underground," having been buried by then - though to be fair, a think the japanese traditionally cremate... Regardless, this ties into album title: "decemberunderground."
   the wikipedia article (http://en.Wikipedia.Org/wiki/yukio_mishima) on mishima includes a photo of mishima giving his speech before he killed himself. He is making a dramatic gesture and wearing a military suit/uniform of striking similarity to that worn by the band (afi) in the video.
   
   Someone else posted mentioning old fashioned merry go rounds. They would have golden rings (or so this person said) which, if the rider grabbed them, could be redeemed for a prize. However, trying to grab them could cause the rider to fall/be injured. This may somehow tie in with the circle of black rabbitts on the album cover and on the letter in the video. Not sure how though.
5. anonymous

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   Aug 21st 2006 !⃝

   Miss Murder is the princess of darkness but it also has a lot to do with Hitler killing himslef read the lyrics you'll understand :)
6. anonymous

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   Aug 20th 2006 !⃝

   Well, for starters, unless anyone has consulted afi on the real meaning behind miss murder (which wasn't clearly discussed in the making of the video), I think it's just slightly pretentious to assume one has the correct answer.
   
   Secondly, the fascist references in miss murder are undeniable. Lets not forget, however, that hitler was not the only dictator of the 20th century. I think it was a wise decision not to make specific reference to hitler or nazi symbols/ideology in the video itself because it very well may have been disastrous for afi's reputation.
   
   Instead, the end product remains open to several interpretations. Perhaps davey intended the lyrical duality of religion and ideology, or perhaps the uncanny picture of milton's lucifer in paradise lost was just a fluke. Eitherway, the lyrics are certainly a very realistic portrayal of humanity's "mortal coil."
   
   i think the real beauty and effect of the song lies in davey not clearly pinning down a description of jesus, hitler or cobain. It makes for a more empathetic view of the narrator/singer in the video. Here we see a distraught, but the nonetheless flawed, man of questionable political and personal agenda torn in a struggle of maintaining his power of the masses and over his own soul. The beauty of it is that davey's character can be representational of any celebrity, political or historical figure who has undergone internal struggle in trying to achieve something truly unntainable and who's only escape is figurative or literal and perhaps inevitable suicide (the lyrics really do capture the rise and fall from public grace, and the unending loyalty of die-hard fans very well...Not to mention the rabbits, which were referenced by afi as a warning of impending destruction and disaster).
   
   Eitherway, whatever afi's intent behind miss murder, cudos to them for conjuring up so many clever images for us to interpret. There's definately something to be said for a band who's music makes us wander into more existential thought, in a time where one doesn't have to look far to be spoon-fed musical gibberish from the likes of jessica simpson or paris hilton.
7. xXJOSHXx

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   Aug 18th 2006 !⃝

   I refuse to believe it's about Hitler...I doubt Davey would be praising or giving credit or somesort to Hitler because I mean history is boring but we still all know that hitler was a racist son of a bitch and no one needs to be reminded.
8. anonymous

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   Aug 16th 2006 !⃝

   Miss murder=death
9. Evanescencefreak

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   Aug 15th 2006 !⃝

   I think this song is about how jesus died for the people aka "his children" and how they wonder why he left. Most people don't believe this because they say it has nothing to do with the music video, but they have to understand that not all videos have to do with the songs meaning. That's just my interpretation anyway.

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10. M7X

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    Aug 14th 2006 !⃝

    Well this song can mean a lot of things.. To me personally this is what I get out of it.
    
    First of all you have to look at the little things that act as symbols. Like in poetry...
    
    Beauty - peace
    sky - continents/ seven seas
    crash - demise
    golden ring - the elusive
    children - his followers or fans
    miss murder - the thought of death
    
    * those are just some.. There are many more..
    
    "with just a look they shook
    and heavens bowed before him."
    
    this to me seems like a man with great power and that everyone thought was great.
    
    "simply a look can break your heart."
    
    haha anyone that's ever had a celebrity crush will know what this means..
    
    
    I think this song is about a man who obtained great power that is now leaving behind all his achievements because he thinks the world would be a better and more peaceful place without him.
    *that's what I got out of the chourus.
    
    Miss murder does symbolize death and she is basically part of an inner conflict that he is having with himself.
    
    He leaves behind all his "children" and they are not sure why. Most people don't consider or see the downside to fame and they can't understand why he would "leave them all behind." they don't see his inner conflict.
    
    I honestly think that "stars" in this song symbolizes achievement and so when davey sings " the stars that pierce the sky" and "the stars that mystified" he is saying the achievements that amazed the world.
    
    "dreams of his crash won't pass."
    
    so to me that line seems as though something is haunting the man and perhaps the crash is demise or a downfall of something.. Perhaps a relationship or something he missed out on because of his fame.
    
    "that the ghost you love, your ray of light will fizzle out without hope."
    
    "ghost" is something that is not really there just like an imprint. So I think this is talking about how the man might be hollow on the inside because of his inner conflict and he has become so wrecked that he has lost all hope and no longer is this "ray of light" that everyone saw him as.The man has lost all hope and doesn't see why he should go on...
    
    But then again I think this song has at least 2 meanings. That is just one that seems kind of more out there.. I honestly can interpret two if not three alternative meanings and that's usually how davey writes his songs anyways. But I don't completely buy the jesus aspect of this song that a lot of people thinks it's about.. Lol!!

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11. anonymous

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    Aug 14th 2006 !⃝

    Ok, to let everyone who just can't comprehend this, Hitler is the whole focus of the song. The lyrics and video both go with it. I don't care if he is catholic or not. That's the meaning of the song!

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12. anonymous

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    Aug 12th 2006 !⃝

    Why don't you all go buy the CD and add on other interpretations?!? And for the 1242537459th time this song has nothing I tell ya nothing to do with Hitler. Besides, who even likes history? Who would sit around and make a song about Hitler? No one, duh!!!
13. anonymous

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    Aug 11th 2006 !⃝

    I don't know if the author of the song admires hitler to write a song with him in mind,but it makes sense to believe it's got to do with it. Specially for the whole scenario in the video. If the author believes that hitler left children behind crying for him (meaning followers)then defenitely there's some admiration for him.
    I think the author simbolyzes death with a pretty female figure just to make it look glamorous as also could've represented it as mr. Murder or anything else. When is asking if beauty can stay if I take my life, is most likely thinking if his image and ideas can stay in peoples minds after dying as has happened with many famous ones after death. Which is what a lot have done when they can't cope with fame and fortune or there's no other exit,as they believe.
    What throws off the hitler concept for me and makes me believe is an anti-religious idea is this paragraph:
    
    "what's the hook, the twist within this verbose mystery?
    I would gladly bet my life upon it
    that the ghost you love, your ray of light will fizzle out
    without hope.
    We're the empty set just floating through, wrapped in skin,
    ever searching for what we were promised...
    Reaching for that golden ring we'd never let go...
    Who would ever let us put their filthy hands upon it?"
    
    this paragraph shows me a person with lack of faith (and I say lack of faith because the words used to describe us:"we're the empty set just floating through, wrapped in skin") where is telling that us humans are just an empty sack made of skin and that whatever religious hopes we have and whoever we believe in (most likely god or jesus)is just a ghost or practically nothing.
    Like if he knew.
    I wanted to write about this song because I've liked rock for about 25 years now and afi is one of my very favorite ones,although I don't agree with most rock song lyrics, as they can be anti-religious and I think religious beliefs should not be used in our everyday listening music, I really admire the talent that is put into the way a song sounds,like does tool offspring, ozzy, green day, etc.
    
    George(not bush)

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14. anonymous

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    Aug 11th 2006 !⃝

    Did anyone think about Evita?

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15. anonymous

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    Aug 10th 2006 !⃝

    "and how his children cry" he made so many jews terrified to even leave a room, ruined so many lives and I justy can't imagine all tha tears that fell from the eyes of so many
    
    The jews weren't his children. So that doesn't make sence I know I know auffly critical over a small thing and I think the point of this song could be anything!!!!! So I don't down ideas except that beautiful angel one (sorry)
    -bookworm

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