This song is not about Sid Vicious/Nancy Spungen, nor is it about Glenn and a "fag" following him into the bathroom, nor is it about Doyle stabbing a redneck trucker in the bathroom of a truck stop (another urban-legend rumor that was prevalent in the Misfits scene "back in the day"). All it's about is the film "Psycho." Nothing more, nothing less. Glenn Danzig was a huge film buff. The very name of the band came from Marilyn Monroe's last film, and there are other references to MM in their music and album art. Their record label was Plan 9 (after the famous Ed Wood B Movie "Plan 9 from Outer Space"). "Where Eagles Dare" was another film. "Psycho '78" just refers to the setting being updated to the current day (the song was written in 1978, released in '79). The protagonist in the song is just Norman Bates, or an imitator of him; a psycho who will stab you in the bathroom. You can't read too much into Misfits songs. There's not much hidden meaning, they're generally about exactly what they say. Just good old fashioned, campy horror fun.
This song is not about Sid Vicious/Nancy Spungen, nor is it about Glenn and a "fag" following him into the bathroom, nor is it about Doyle stabbing a redneck trucker in the bathroom of a truck stop (another urban-legend rumor that was prevalent in the Misfits scene "back in the day"). All it's about is the film "Psycho." Nothing more, nothing less. Glenn Danzig was a huge film buff. The very name of the band came from Marilyn Monroe's last film, and there are other references to MM in their music and album art. Their record label was Plan 9 (after the famous Ed Wood B Movie "Plan 9 from Outer Space"). "Where Eagles Dare" was another film. "Psycho '78" just refers to the setting being updated to the current day (the song was written in 1978, released in '79). The protagonist in the song is just Norman Bates, or an imitator of him; a psycho who will stab you in the bathroom. You can't read too much into Misfits songs. There's not much hidden meaning, they're generally about exactly what they say. Just good old fashioned, campy horror fun.