Released 1995 Genre Rock Label Geffen | Format CD single Length 5:44 | |
Writer(s) Steve Bowman, David Bryson, Adam Duritz, Charlie Gillingham, Matt Malley | ||
"A Murder of One" is a song by Counting Crows, released as the fourth single from their debut album, August And Everything After.
Frontman Adam Duritz explained the song's meaning:
"I can remember being eight years old and having infinite possibilities. But life ends up being so much less than we thought it would be when we were kids, with relationships that are so empty and stupid and brutal. If you don't find a way to break the chain and change in some way, then you wind up, as the rhyme goes: a murder of one, for sorrow." Murder is a term used to refer to a group of crows. The band's name, Counting Crows, and a line from this song are both references to an English divination rhyme.
The song was featured in a 2004 episode of Scrubs, entitled "My Porcelain God." In the season 1 episode entitled The Crucible from Hemlock Grove a librarian recites to a group of children the lyrics of the song.
Notable Covers
Chasing June (2011 LP, "Under the Slate Grey Sky").