“Four Walls (The Ballad of Perry Smith)” by Bastille

Four Walls as used in this song signifies prison cells in which criminals are kept to hinder them from escaping justice by running away, killing themselves or harming others. The track talks about Perry Edward Smith’s murder of four people and how he was faced with a death sentence.

You can view the lyrics, alternate interprations and sheet music for Bastille's Four Walls (The Ballad of Perry Smith) at Lyrics.org.

The writer in the chorus however addresses the dilemma of capital punishments, questioning if it is right to punish killers by doing the same thing they did. In the chorus, he also cites Perry’s fate, questioning if he was born a killer, or grew into a killer based on his abusive and tragic childhood experiences. The writer further examines how tormenting it must be for the criminal to carry the guilt of killing innocent people on his conscience, while awaiting his death in a prison cell with no hope.

“Four Walls (The Ballad of Perry Smith)” was produced by Mark Crew and Dan Smith, and released on September 19, 2016. Written by Dan Smith, the track was listed as the tenth song on Bastille’s 2016 album, Wild World.

Perry Edward Smith’s Crimes and Execution

In 1948, Perry Smith joined the U.S. Army and was very active during the Korean War. Four years later, he was given an honorary discharge from the service. He later began working as a car painter while living in Tacoma. During his time at the Kansas State prison, Smith met fellow inmate, Richard Hickock, and the two immediately became friends. The former was released on parole, but the latter completed his term and came out in 1959. They continued their friendship outside the prison yard and later planned to go on a robbery mission.

Smith joined his friend in Kansas and they moved to the home of the Clutters. After their robbery, they killed all four members of the family; Herbert, Bonnie, Kenyon, and Nancy. Six weeks after committing the crime, they were arrested and sentenced to death. In April 1965, they were executed by hanging.

Perry Edward Smith
Perry Edward Smith

The story is captured in Bastille’s “Four Walls (The Ballad of Perry Smith)”.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

You may also like...