There’s a scene in episode 8 of the new Netflix series Monster: The Lizzie Borden Story, in which serial killer Aileen Wuornos, portrayed by Sarah Paulson, requests Natalie Merchant’s “Carnival” be played as she’s executed by lethal injunction.
While strapped to the execution table, Wuornos’ character offers her final words in the episode, named after the Merchant song. “I would just like to say I’m sailing with the rock, and I’ll be back, like Independence Day, with Jesus. June 6, like the movie. Big mothership and all, I’ll be back, I’ll be back,” which is accurately depicted.
? SIGN UP for Parade’s Daily newsletter to get the latest pop culture news & celebrity interviews delivered right to your inbox ?
She then lifts her head and adds, “Hey, I asked for a song. ‘Carnival’ by Natalie Merchant. Can you play that?” A prison official overseeing the execution nods in the affirmative, while Wuornos’ character adds, “F—kin’ love that song” as it begins to play over a small speaker while she’s administered three lethal injections.
While that makes for good television, Wuornos was a fan of Merchant and loved “Carnival,” apparently showrunners Ryan Murphy and Ian Brennan used a bit of creative license for that scene. However, the song was played at Wuornos’ funeral, and was later included in Nick Broomfield’s 2003 documentary Aileen: Life and Death of a Serial Killer.
The fact a serial killer was a fan of her music initially gave Merchant pause. “The only reason I knew that is because Nick Broomfield, the director of the documentary about her, wrote to my manager asking to include my music,” the singer revealed in a 2023 interview with The New Yorker. “My answer was ‘No, under no circumstances. Why would I want my music in a film about a serial killer?’ But eventually he explained that ‘Tigerlily’ was the album Aileen listened to obsessively. It gave her comfort when she was on death row. So I gave permission, though I’ve never been able to watch the film. I’m just too sensitive to that kind of subject matter.”
Paulson’s depiction of Wuornos isn’t the first time the serial killer’s story has been adapted for the screen. Charlize Theron famously won an Academy Award for Best Actress for her portrayal of Wuornos in the 2003 biopic Monster, which also featured Merchant’s “Carnival” as well as songs by Journey, Joan Jett & the Blackhearts and others, so Merchant apparently greenlit the use of the song in that film and the new Netflix series.
“Carnival,” featured on Merchant’s 1995 solo debut, Tigerlily, reached No. 10 on the Billboard Hot 100, making it her most successful solo single. During an appearance on VH1’s Storytellers, per Songfacts, Merchant revealed the inspiration behind the song.
“‘Carnival’ really evokes for me what it’s like to walk down any avenue in the City. I grew up in the country, so the nearest thing I ever experienced to walking down the street in New York before I was 16 and I came here for the first time was a carnival – the Stockton Gala Days actually. I’d never seen people walking down the street eating before – that was a bizarre experience. We in the country sit down to take our meals – that just blew me away,” Merchant said.
“Something else I’d never seen before were the gentlemen with the two-sided placards that hand out invitations to peep shows, but I never seemed to get one – they always picked the guys around me. It’s an amazing city, but what I love about it even more than places like Los Angeles is that everybody at sometime has to deal with other people. It’s not a car culture here. I like that: people have to rub against each other. I like to take the subway, I like to study people’s faces, try to imagine their stories. In the song, I see the city as a stage, as a spectacle, as a carnival, and as a madhouse, because sometimes it is that, it’s a totally insane place to live. When I was 16 and I visited for the first time, I said, ‘I’m going to live here someday.’ You’ve got to be careful what you wish for because sometimes it comes true,” she added.
These days, the former 10,000 Maniacs singer is making music for children with her Cabinet of Wonder multimedia project.
Hence then, the article about did a serial killer really request natalie merchant s 1995 hit be played during her execution was published today ( ) and is available on Parade ( Saudi Arabia ) The editorial team at PressBee has edited and verified it, and it may have been modified, fully republished, or quoted. You can read and follow the updates of this news or article from its original source.
Read More Details
Finally We wish PressBee provided you with enough information of ( Did a Serial Killer Really Request Natalie Merchant’s 1995 Hit Be Played During Her Execution? )
Also on site :
- Steven R. McQueen Sends Direct Message in First Social Media Selfie in 5 Years After Rare Public Return Sparks Buzz Over His Changed Appearance
- 2007 Grammy-Nominated Hit, Written by a 16-Year-Old After a Heated Argument, Became a Career-Defining Classic
- What were Trump operatives doing for pro-Russian politician Dodik in Bosnia?