Frankie Teardrop

"Frankie Teardrop" is a song by Suicide from the band's acclaimed first album Suicide, which was released in 1977. The song tells a story of a young father and poverty-stricken factory worker whose destitution drives him to insanity. One day, Frankie comes home from work, murders his wife and child, and then commits suicide. The narrative then continues to follow him into hell. The musical backing on the song is sparse, featuring just a simple keyboard riff, drum machine, and the vocal line, creating a chilling atmosphere. Singer Alan Vega's "Dark, inhuman screams"^[1] add to the claustrophobic nature of the piece.

Reviews

The track received many reviews due to both its disturbing nature (Nick Hornby in his book 31 Songs described it as something you would listen to "Only once"),^[2] and for its political viewpoint, by Allmusic as "More literally and poetically political than the work of bands who wore their radical philosophies on their sleeve". Bruce Springsteen has cited that he loves this song in interviews, and that it was an influence on his album Nebraska.^[3] Pitchfork cited it as "[The track that] gets most of the ink" in terms of critical acclaim, and jokingly as "Taxi Driver: The Musical" when citing the album Suicide in its 100 Greatest ’70s Albums list.^[4]

Personnel

Adapted from the Suicide liner notes.^[5]

Suicide

• Martin Rev – keyboards
• Alan Vega – vocals

Production and additional personnel

• Larry Alexander – engineering
• Craig Leon – production
• Marty Thau – production

References