"Israel's Son" is a song by Australian

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

band

Silverchair Silverchair were an Australian Rock music, rock band, which formed in 1992 as Innocent Criminals in Newcastle, New South Wales, with Ben Gillies on drums, Daniel Johns on vocals and guitars, and Chris Joannou on bass guitar. The group got thei ...

, released in 1995. It was the third single released from their debut full-length album, ''

Frogstomp ''Frogstomp'' is the debut studio album by Australian alternative rock band Silverchair. It was released on 27 March 1995, when the band members were only 15 years of age, by record label Murmur. The album features the band's commercially most ...

'', which was released earlier the same year. It was also released on their '' The Best of Volume 1''.

Origin

Daniel Johns Daniel Paul Johns (born 22 April 1979) is an Australian musician, singer, and songwriter best known as the former frontman, guitarist, and main songwriter of the rock band Silverchair. Johns is also one half of The Dissociatives with Paul Mac a ...

said about the song in an interview with Request Magazine in November 1995:

That
ong Ong or ONG may refer to: Arts and media * Ong's Hat, a collaborative work of fiction * “Ong Ong”, a song by Blur from the album The Magic Whip Places * Ong, Nebraska, US, city * Ong's Hat, New Jersey, US, ghost town * Ong River, Odisha, ...
was about an execution I saw on tele. I got this video of an execution, and I just saw it, and I was watching it one night, and I had a dream about it, and I woke up and thought, 'Oh yeah, that's pretty cool', and I wrote a song about it.

Murder trial

In a January 1996 murder case, the defendant counsel for Brian Bassett, 16, and Nicholaus McDonald, 18, of

McCleary, Washington McCleary () is a city in Grays Harbor County, Washington, United States. The population was 1,997 at the 2020 census. History Henry McCleary came to the land in 1897, building two sawmills and a door manufacturing company. He sold the land a ...

, claimed that the pair listened to "Israel's Son", from ''Frogstomp'', which contributed to the murders of Bassett's parents and a younger brother on August 10, 1995. McDonald's lawyer cited the lyrics "'Hate is what I feel for you/I want you to know that I want you dead'" which were "almost a script. They're relevant to everything that happened". The band's manager, John Watson, was quoted as stating on behalf of Silverchair:

"Silverchair do not, have not, and never would condone violence of any sort. The band is appalled by this horrific crime and they hope that justice will prevail in prosecuting whoever is responsible for it. The band extends its sincere sympathies to the families and friends of the victims in this case. Silverchair absolutely rejects any allegation that their song is in any way responsible for the actions of the alleged murders. It is a matter of public record that the song in question, Israel's Son, was inspired by a television documentary about wartime atrocities. Israel's Son was never intended to provoke violence and cannot be interpreted by any reasonable person as doing so. In fact, the song seeks to criticise violence and war by portraying them in all their horror."

Prosecutors rejected the defence case and convinced the jury that the murder was committed to "steal money and belongings and run off to California."

Charts

Certifications

References

External links

Silverchair FAQs on silverchair.nu
{{authority control 1995 singles Silverchair songs Songs written by Daniel Johns Song recordings produced by Kevin Shirley Black-and-white music videos 1995 controversies Music controversies 20th-century controversies in the United States 1995 songs Murmur (record label) singles