Despite being heavily influenced by Limp Bizkit and Fred Durst (who has not aged well – sorry Fred!) during my teenage years, this post is not about that song.
The post is about the Frank Sinatra song ‘My Way’. Which firstly, he ripped off from a French guy who personally I think sang it better (original song video below). I suppose I’m giving away my mild distaste for Frank Sinatra and all the nefarious things he was said to have done during his life.
However, that’s by the by.
In the Philippines, karaoke is a massive part of life. Similar to many Western countries, it brings people together and gives people something to discuss during social outings, such as “dang that woman was bloody awful with that Leona Lewis song” or “if I hear ‘Jolene’ one more fucking time…”.
So how can something as harmless as karaoke turn people into cold-blooded killers?
Well, whilst it’s not heard of over here in the UK (or if it has happened, I certainly haven’t heard about it and trust me, if it was going to happen anywhere, it would have happened in my rough local), there have been several instances in the Philippines where someone has gotten up to sing karaoke and sang ‘My Way’ (Frank not Fred) and been killed mid-song. In fact, at least six people between 2002 and 2012 have died because of it. Whilst that may not seem a huge number, when you put it in the context of:
- Were doing karaoke
- Were in the Phillippines
- Were singing ‘My Way’
It sort of becomes a realisation that that could be more than just a unfortunate coincidence. In fact, a number of bars have now banned the singing of it and many people refuse to sing it out of sheer fear or superstition that the song is cursed.
Violence is not uncommon in the Philippines but let’s look into why this particular song seems to trigger people:
- It’s bloody awful
- You need a good voice to not butcher it
- No one enjoys listening to terrible singers sing ballads (the only time terrible singers are funny are if they’re singing ‘Baby Got Back’ or ‘Rapper’s Delight’)
- It may have been popular at one time so everyone sang it. Kind of like that time over here when every woman under 30 decided that Kelly Clarkson was the way forward on karaoke – to the point where everyone else in the room wanted to murder them for repeatedly singing the same. goddam. song.
- The lyrics of the song are pretty arrogant and it could make the person singing it appear even more annoying than they already are
- People might just hate Frank Sinatra.
It’s also worth mentioning that there are an awful lot of annoying songs out there (Rihanna I’m looking at you) which don’t seem to result in the same fatal outcomes. It also needs to be pointed out that it’s entirely possible that the murderers had beef already with the murderee (is that a word?) and that just tipped them over the edge.
That last point may be worthwhile thinking about, since ‘My Way’ is by no means an unheard of song in the Western world and doesn’t seem to have that same effect on people. Although a man was arrested in 2008 in Thailand for shooting 8 people to death after repeated renditions of John Denver’s ‘Take Me Home, Country Roads’. Which is ridiculous of course because that’s a great song, no matter how many times it’s sang on repeat. And I should know, it’s looped on my Spotify.
So what makes this cursed song drive people to murder? What are your thoughts? Leave us a comment and let us know!
I’ll leave you with this banger.
The M.O Podcast 