Currently, the group comprises singer and harmonica player John Popper, guitarist Chan Kinchla, drummer Brendan Hill, bassist Tad Kinchla and keyboardist Ben Wilson. Tad Kinchla and Ben Wilson joined the band following the death of original bassist Bobby Sheehan in 1999.
While Blues Traveler is best known among fans for their improvisational live shows, the general public is most familiar with the group from their Top 40 singles "Run-Around" and "Hook". They gained mainstream popularity after their fourth studio album four, released in 1994. Sheehan's death and Popper's struggle with obesity put a damper on the group's success, and A&M dropped the band in 2002.
Psycho Joe
Blues Traveler Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And killed a disciple
So that those nagging thoughts
Would leave him in peace
He'd drown a puppy
Or shive-shank a yuppie
Just to make the voices cease
Goes on a bender
Taken into custody
So satisfying I would be lying
If I didn't want to hear the plea
And so we gather round Psycho Joe
The quiet loners always blow
Strap him in the chair
And killing bad guys is such fun
Too bad we only captured one
Are there any more out there
Are there any more out there
And in the weirdest way it sets him free
He's finally rid of you and me
Joe and his electric chair
He worshiped Satan
And liked Iron Maiden
And now he's in the cold cold ground
For more exciting
Staging and lighting
We waited till the sun went down
Killed someone's daughter
With the chain that they bought her
What's a daddy gonna do
But the most annoyed
Were the talk show tabloids
Because they couldn't get an interview
And so we gather round Psycho Joe
The quiet loners always blow
Strap him in the chair
And killing bad guys is such fun
Too bad we only captured one
Are there any more out there
Are there any more out there
Any more out there?
You've got your heroes
Caesars and Neros
Men of infamy and fame
Now we've got Jo Jo
Have we sunk so low
Guess I've got myself to blame
An eye for an eye
Won't get you by
Good book says that it's a sin
But the ratings war
Says that if we kill more
Psychopaths then we will win
And so we gather round Psycho Joe
The quiet loners always blow
Strap him in the chair
And killing bad guys is such fun
Too bad we only captured one
Are there any more out there
Are there any more out there
And in the weirdest way it sets him free
He's finally rid of you and me
Joe and his electric, Joe and his electric
Joe and his electrical chair
The song "Psycho Joe" by Blues Traveler is a satirical take on the American obsession with violence and the media's fascination with sensationalizing it. The lyrics follow a man named Joe who is mentally unwell and resorts to violence in order to quiet the voices in his head. He eventually ends up being captured and put on trial, with the media and public eagerly awaiting his fate. The chorus of the song features a group of people gathering around Joe as he is executed in the electric chair, with the lyrics implying that the whole spectacle is just a twisted form of entertainment.
The lyrics also touch on the idea that the media is complicit in promoting violence through their coverage of sensational stories. The line "But the most annoyed were the talk show tabloids, because they couldn't get an interview" highlights the media's eagerness to profit off of tragedy and sensationalism. The song seems to suggest that society's obsession with violence is not only detrimental to those directly impacted by it, but also to the culture as a whole.
Line by Line Meaning
He took a rifle
He suffered from incessant thoughts and took desperate actions for relief
And killed a disciple
He had murdered someone to release that pressure
So that those nagging thoughts Would leave him in peace
The killing was done so that his brain's incessant voices would stop haunting him
He'd drown a puppy
The voices in his head were tearing him apart and nothing worked than to commit heinous acts
Or shive-shank a yuppie
He would go to any extent to silence the voices in his head
Just to make the voices cease
Committing egregious crimes is the only way he has found to silence the voices
Goes on a bender
He indulged in substance abuse as a coping mechanism
Then he surrenders
He did not run away but surrendered himself to authorities
Taken into custody
Law enforcement caught him and put him behind bars
So satisfying I would be lying
Getting a guilty plea from him is righteous, though the thought of the ease it brought to his mind is uneasy
If I didn't want to hear the plea
Although it is not ethical, they still want Joe to plead guilty to ease their minds
And so we gather round Psycho Joe
The media and public were curious about Joe and his gruesome actions
The quiet loners always blow
The oppressed and not-so-outgoing people tend to do extreme things to release their pressure
Strap him in the chair
An electric chair awaits Joe to administer justice and punishment
And killing bad guys is such fun
There's something thrilling and satisfying about killing those who do bad things
Too bad we only captured one
He may not be the only one doing extreme things to silence their minds
Are there any more out there
Authorities are questioning if there are more like Joe out there
Are there any more out there
The law enforcement seeks to capture everyone for carrying out justice
And in the weirdest way it sets him free
Killing Psycho Joe through the electric chair would end his suffering from hearing the constant voices in his head
He's finally rid of you and me
Joe looks forward to the end of suffering in silence amidst society’s voices that never let him be
Joe and his electric chair
Joe's sin is big enough that demands him facing up to his deeds, and his mode of execution would be the electric chair
He worshiped Satan
He followed the devilish path as a coping mechanism
And liked Iron Maiden
He found solace in a type of music that others might fear
And now he's in the cold cold ground
Joe is dead and buried deep in the earth
For more exciting
The media coverage of stories followed famous trends and emphasized the dramatic actions of Joe
Staging and lighting
The media carried out more elaborate reporting to draw audiences
We waited till the sun went down
The execution of Joe was carried out in a fashion that gained more media attention by nightfall
Killed someone's daughter
Joe killed a girl, and somebody's daughter never came back from his misdeeds
With the chain that they bought her
Ironically the person that bought the girl the chain that killed her daughter carried the same burden as Joe
What's a daddy gonna do
The father of the deceased was helpless in front of the severe actions of Joe
But the most annoyed
The sensational media coverage did not appeal to the people who wanted information about the motive behind Joe's actions
Were the talk show tabloids
The story of Joe brought a lot of revenue to the media, especially the talk show Tabloids
Because they couldn't get an interview
The media outlets craved to cover Joe to gain more audience, but as Joe was dead, they could not get an interview with him
You've got your heroes
Society idolizes some famous figures, involving historical characters who played a significant role or famous people who have done incredibly righteous things
Caesars and Neros
Caesars and Neros were notorious Roman Emperors
Men of infamy and fame
These were people known for their fame and infamy, both for their exceptional deeds and misdeeds
Now we've got Jo Jo
Joe’s name is now on the list of people who society will demonize as extreme and infamous
Have we sunk so low
Society has reached its lowest point when murderers gain notoriety because of the media's coverage. It shows society's fascination with violence.
Guess I've got myself to blame
The singer, the people who relish Joe's story in the media, are to blame for their insatiable lust for this kind of brutality
An eye for an eye
The eye for an eye philosophy is the idea that the punishment for a crime should be equivalent to the offense
Won't get you by
The revenge or punishment for a crime will not solve the core problems of our society
Good book says that it's a sin
The book of reference here could be the Bible which opposes the philosophy of an eye for an eye
But the ratings war
Even if the ideology of society is to seek revenge or justice by punishing the criminal, the driving force behind the coverage of Joe's story is the ratings war between media outlets.
Says that if we kill more Psychopaths then we will win
The media believes that if they cover more stories of psychopaths who commit crimes, they will win more viewership and generate revenue. It's a blatant misuse of the freedom of press by sensationalizing horrific events.
Lyrics © CONCORD MUSIC PUBLISHING LLC, Peermusic Publishing
Written by: BOBBY SHEEHAN, JOHN C. POPPER
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
blondwiththewind
I especially like the sound effects at the end of the song...I SWEAR it makes the lights flicker when that PSZZZZDT comes over the speakers!!! LOL
blondwiththewind
There you go! Now everybody's happy...in a "Dexter" sort of way! :-)
blondwiththewind
Comical song!! :-) Kinda makes you wish there were a few more of him out there "doin' away with the badguys"....sure would relieve the "system" a bit. LOL
fathomsofhiddenseas
1:36 what i came here for, bye
nomadtraveller100
Ha Ha I have known a few psycho Joes in my time. Where's Dexter when you need him?
blondwiththewind
Actually: he's not saying Iron Maiden worships Satan....it's about the BAD GUY: "He worships Satan...liked Iron Maiden"...so it's a little bit different...minor distinction...but it IS there. I just love this little song...cracks me right up to think of a guy with a home made electric chair looking for "Bad Guys". Hahaha! "KILLING BAD GUYS IS SUCH FUN, TOO BAD WE ONLY CAPTURED ONE...ARE THERE ANY MORE OUT THERE? ANY MORE OUT THERE?!" Guess everybody needs a hobby! Dark but comical. XD
Joe Cla
@Aaron Bradley also... punctuation can be your friend.
Aaron Bradley
Wow do you think you're like insightful wow I caught that the first time I heard the song when I was like 18 years old and on several narcotics you didn't who doesn't know that this song is a parody of anti-death penalty but don't in the humorous way and done very well and effectively you think you're special figuring that out wow you're an idiot
Aaron Bradley
Not a great album like Travelers and thieves or save his soul but a very underrated album and I liked it a lot better than whatever the hell that one with hook and runaround was. That's as close as Blues Traveler can come to selling out I did like but anyway from that some corny comedy whatever they did that for that that was a good song but I did not oh yeah for was the name of the album I did not enjoy that album which basically Rex this album which was a thousand times better than for my personal opinion is the best album ever made by far was save-a-soul followed by Travelers and thieves but that's just my opinion
scott saxe
Four was a killer album that put them on the map