“Diane” by Therapy?
This song is named after one Diane Elizabeth Edwards. Diane’s claim to fame, unfortunately, was having been one of the victims of a serial killer by the name of Joseph Donald Ture.
“Diane” is reminiscent of the more-popular 1991 Nirvana song “Polly” in that the vocalist takes on the role of a real-life kidnapper/killer, in this case Joseph Ture, himself. And with that in mind, the lyrics can be potentially off-putting to some listeners. This gets even worse when you consider the fact that Diane, who was only 19 years when she was murdered and raped by Ture, is referred to as a “little girl” and what have you, i.e. the narrative being relayed from the supposed perspective of the murderer.
This song was originally dropped by a band called Hüsker Dü. And according to an explanation of the lyrics as provided by one of the band’s members, Bob Mould, he implied that they did so in the name of bringing awareness to the fact that people as evil as Ture exist.
Also taking the aforementioned “Polly” into consideration, perhaps it can be said that rock bands dropping these kinds of songs was sorta en vogue back in the 1990s. But we do know that in the case of “Polly”, Nirvana was actually speaking out against the abuse of women.
So once again based on the words of Bob Mould, such can also be presumed with “Diane”, even though such pieces may leave some listeners wondering why such an artistic approach would be taken to this matter in the first place.
But if nothing else, as implied, “Diane” does an effective job of reminding listeners of the types of harrowing evils which exist in the world. The song lets us know that there are actually men out there who would pick up innocent girls like Diane Edwards and proceed to rape and kill them just like that.
Facts about “Diane”
Therapy? is a band that has been professionally active since the late 1980s. Their version of “Diane” came out on 5 November 1995. The song was originally dropped by an American act known as Hüsker Dü in 1983.
“Diane” actually ranks amongst Therapy?’s most successful singles. It appeared on a number music charts in Europe and fared most impressively in Sweden.
This song is derived from “Infernal Love”, which is also one of Therapy?’s more notable studio albums. Said outing is a product of A&M Records.
“Diane” was written by former Hüsker Dü member Grant Hart (1961-2017). Meanwhile, Therapy?’s version was produced by Al Clay.
FYI
Diane Edwards (1961-1980) was abducted and murdered by Joseph Ture, in Minnesota, when she was just 19 years old. While serving time for her murder, Ture was also convicted of four more murders. He was found guilty of murdering a mother and three of her children. He committed these crimes earlier, also in Minnesota, in 1978.
At the end of the day, he was sentenced to life imprisonment in 1981. And by the looks of things is still alive as of the writing of this post.
