D major · Camelot 10B · 105 BPM
Kill the Poor
by Dead Kennedys
- 105
- BPM
- D major
- Key
- 10B
- Camelot
- 27
- Danceability
- 22
- Acousticness
The single spent three weeks on the UK Singles Chart, peaking at #49 after its release in October 1980 on Cherry Red Records. It was the third single by Dead Kennedys, backed with "In-sight", and arrived shortly after the band had formed in San Francisco in 1978. Jello Biafra sang lead, with East Bay Ray on lead guitar, Klaus Flouride on bass, Ted on drums and 6025 on rhythm guitar.
The lyrics of "Kill the Poor" are a satire aimed at the elite, imagining a scenario in which they would use neutron bombs to wipe out impoverished people while leaving property intact. The song was re-recorded for the band's first album, Fresh Fruit for Rotting Vegetables, released the same year, though the single and album versions show little difference between them.
Other versions also circulated. A special "disco version" was played and recorded on March 3, 1979, and later appeared on the live album Live at the Deaf Club. The B-side "In-sight" was included on the 1987 compilation album Give Me Convenience or Give Me Death. After this single, Dead Kennedys went on to release the EP In God We Trust Inc. in 1981 and three further studio albums, Plastic Surgery Disasters, Frankenchrist and Bedtime for Democracy, the last of which came out shortly after they announced their breakup in January 1986.
Kill the Poor runs at 105 BPM, the tempo of mid-tempo pop, dancehall and indie. In classical terms it sits in andante territory. A bar of 4/4 lasts 2.29 seconds, and a quarter-note delay is 571 ms. It is in D major, Camelot 10B, which shares its notes with B minor and mixes cleanly with G major and A major.
We use multiple sources as part of our online research for the song story including Wikipedia.