Clown (Korn song)

1995 single by Korn

"Clown"

Single by Korn
from the album  Korn
Released| July 12, 1995 (1995-07-12)[citation needed]
Studio| Indigo Ranch (Malibu, California)[1][2]
Genre| Nu metal[3][4]
Length|

* 4:36 (album version)
* 3:38 (radio edit)[5]

Label|

* Epic
* Immortal[6]

Songwriter(s)|

* Reginald Arvizu
* Jonathan Davis
* James Shaffer
* David Silveria
* Brian Welch

Producer(s)| Ross Robinson
Korn singles chronology
| "Shoots and Ladders"
(1995)  | "Clown"
(1995)  | "No Place to Hide"
(1996)

|
|

"Clown" is a song by the American nu metal band Korn. It was released as the fourth single from their self-titled debut album on July 12, 1995.[citation needed]

## Meaning

[edit]

What inspired Jonathan Davis to write this song though, was an early gig in San Diego where a person in the audience was booing them and telling them to "go back to Bakersfield!" Jonathan knelt down to hear him and the guy took a swing at him. He missed and the band's manager assaulted him. The person was all tattooed and looked like a "clown" to Jonathan Davis, inspiring the title of the song and also the line "Hit me clown, because I'm not from your town."[7] Preceding the song is a conversation with Korn fooling around at the song's recording, and in the conversation, one of the members says "I wish we could put 'Twist' on a fucking tape"; this references a track that would eventually appear on the band's next album Life Is Peachy. A quote taken from Korn's Who Then Now? video, which serves as an introduction for the music video:

> I wrote a song about a guy in San Diego who took a swing at me. He's all "Fuck you! Go back to Bakersfield!" Well I didn't understand that, so I bent down and he tried to swing at me, and our road manager Jeff knocked his ass out, that song is Clown.[8][9]

## Music video

[edit]

The video begins with the band walking in a hallway in El Segundo High School.[10] There are shots of a clown balancing something on his nose. Soon, the band starts playing in a locker room which appears to be happening at night. Jonathan Davis is seen singing and, in some clips, he's sitting in a locker room inside one of the dry showers. With a few people spraying a little bit of water on his hair to tease him. This represents some of his painful experiences in high school of being teased. It also features the band in a gym with clips of jocks in their football jerseys and cheerleaders seen by someone in the halls. One of the cheerleaders goes into a bathroom and starts smiling in the dark room. She proceeds to brush her hair with her hands. Clips also show the band performing in a dark room. The video ends with the cheerleader in the bathroom taking off her shirt, showing a tattoo on her back which is the band's logo. The music video most likely could be them in the school after a football game at night.[11] The music video was directed by McG;[12] and produced by Dana Shaffer at the production house “Sunshine Filmworks” in Hollywood. It first aired in April 1996, and by May it was in the top 50 rotation on MTV.[13]

## Track listing

[edit]

### US Radio Promo

[edit]

* CD5" ESK 6580[14]

1. "Clown" – 4:36

Note: the back cover does not state which version this is. However, it's identical to the Radio Edit on the below European promo.

### European Radio Promo

[edit]

* CD5" ESK 7735[15]

1. "Clown" (Radio Edit) – 3:52

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Small 1998, p. 16.
2. ^ Arvizu 2009, p. 69.
3. ^ Wiederhorn, Jon (July 1, 2013). "NOISEY VS. METALSUCKS - THREATEN MY FAMILY IF YOU MUST, BUT I STILL SAY KORN RULES". Vice.
4. ^ McIver, Joel (2002). "How did we get to nu-metal from old metal?". Nu-metal: The Next Generation of Rock & Punk. Omnibus Press. pp. 10, 12. ISBN 0-7119-9209-6.
5. ^ Thomas, Stephen (1994-10-11). "Korn - Korn : Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards". AllMusic. Retrieved 2013-02-18.
6. ^ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Korn – Korn : Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards : AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved October 17, 2012.
7. ^ Furman 2000, pp. 49–52.
8. ^ "GEAR". Kornseed.cro.net. Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2013-02-18.
9. ^ "Korn - Clown". Shelf3d. Retrieved Feb 18, 2013.
10. ^ Jonathan Davis Chat 12/9/00 "https://web.archive.org/web/20030206032845/http://www.kornkids.com/chats/jonathan-chat-12-09-00.htm"
11. ^ "Korn - Clown". VEVO. October 25, 2009. Retrieved Feb 18, 2013.
12. ^ "Korn "Clown"". Scotthen Riksen. Archived from the original on February 25, 2012. Retrieved Feb 17, 2013.
13. ^ "Video Monitor". Billboard. May 18, 1996. p. 81\. ISSN 0006-2510.
14. ^ "Clown US Radio Promo (ESK 6580)". Korn.simpol.net. Retrieved November 20, 2011.
15. ^ "Clown European Radio Promo (ESK 7735)". Korn.simpol.net. Retrieved November 20, 2011.

### Works cited

[edit]

* Arvizu, Reginald (2009). Got the Life. William Morrow. ISBN 978-0-06-166249-2.
* Furman, Leah (2000). Korn: Life in the Pit. St. Martin's Press. ISBN 1466809299.
* Small, Doug (1998). Korn: The Story of Korn. Omnibus Press. ISBN 0825618045.

## External links

[edit]

* Music Video on YouTube

* v
* t
* e

Korn

* Jonathan Davis
* James "Munky" Shaffer
* Brian "Head" Welch
* Ray Luzier
* Roberto "Ra" Diaz Hola

* Reginald "Fieldy" Arvizu
* David Silveria

Studio albums|

* Korn
* Life Is Peachy
* Follow the Leader
* Issues
* Untouchables
* Take a Look in the Mirror
* See You on the Other Side
* Untitled
* Korn III: Remember Who You Are
* The Path of Totality
* The Paradigm Shift
* The Serenity of Suffering
* The Nothing
* Requiem

Live albums|

* MTV Unplugged
* Requiem Mass

Compilation albums|

* Greatest Hits Vol. 1
* Live & Rare
* Chopped, Screwed, Live and Unglued

Video releases|

* Who Then Now?
* Deuce
* Live
* Live on the Other Side
* Live at Montreux 2004
* Korn Live: The Encounter

Demo albums|

* Neidermayer's Mind

Singles|

* "Blind"
* "Need To"
* "Shoots and Ladders"
* "Clown"
* "No Place to Hide"
* "A.D.I.D.A.S."
* "Good God"
* "All in the Family"
* "Got the Life"
* "Freak on a Leash"
* "Falling Away from Me"
* "Make Me Bad"
* "Here to Stay"
* "Thoughtless"
* "Alone I Break"
* "Did My Time"
* "Right Now"
* "Y'All Want a Single"
* "Everything I've Known"
* "Word Up!"
* "Twisted Transistor"
* "Coming Undone"
* "Politics"
* "Evolution"
* "Hold On"
* "Oildale (Leave Me Alone)"
* "Let the Guilt Go"
* "Get Up!"
* "Narcissistic Cannibal"
* "Way Too Far"
* "Chaos Lives in Everything"
* "Never Never"
* "Spike in My Veins"
* "Hater"
* "Rotting in Vain"
* "Take Me"
* "Black Is the Soul"
* "You'll Never Find Me"
* "Can You Hear Me"
* "Finally Free"
* "Start the Healing"

Promotional singles|

* "Jingle Balls"
* "Somebody Someone"
* "Another Brick in the Wall"
* "Insane"
* "Cold"

Notable songs|

* "Faget"
* "Daddy"

Concert tours|

* Family Values Tour
* 1998
* 2006
* Mayhem Festival 2010
* Music as a Weapon V Tour
* The Path of Totality Tour

Signature instruments|

* Ibanez Apex
* Ibanez K5
* Ibanez K7

Related|

* Discography
* List of songs
* Solo projects
* List of awards
* "Korn's Groovy Pirate Ghost Mystery"
* Fear and the Nervous System
* Fieldy's Dreams
* Jonathan Davis and the SFA
* Killbot
* KXM
* L.A.P.D.
* Love and Death
* StillWell
* Got the Life
* Save Me from Myself
* Korn Kovers

* Category

Authority control databases |

* MusicBrainz release group

|

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