KILLING COUSINS — THE HILLSIDE STRANGLERS (Los Angeles, 1977)

[Intro — whispered over rain, distant traffic, and a low electric-guitar drone] Hollywood is sleeping... The freeways are alive... Palm trees move in the midnight wind... And somewhere in Glendale... Behind a garage door... Two cousins are waiting. [Verse 1 — slow, sinister] Down on Sunset, neon burns, Hollywood rolls while the night turns, Eagle Rock beneath the streetlight glow, Nobody knows where the shadows go. A badge flashes underneath the light, A friendly voice says, "Everything's all right," But down Colorado, the headlights fade, And another little promise becomes a masquerade. [Pre-Chorus] Two cousins... One terrible game... One wore a smile, One carried the shame. And Los Angeles kept shining Like nothing was wrong... [Chorus — haunting, heavy] Killing cousins... riding through the night, Hillside Stranglers underneath the city lights, From Hollywood to Glendale, where the darkness starts, Two cold shadows with two broken hearts. Killing cousins... hear the highway call, Ten young lives and the silence after all, California dreaming underneath the stars... While the Hillside Stranglers leave their mark. [Verse 2 — darker] Three blocks down on Colorado Street, There's an upholstery shop where the darkness meets, Leather, gasoline, machinery and dust, A place where nobody would think to look for trust. Seven-oh-three... East Colorado... A garage beside the California glow, Cars come in and the doors roll down, While something terrible is hiding in town. The shop looks ordinary in the afternoon, But night falls early in that room. Most of the killings happened there, Behind the walls where nobody heard, While outside Glendale carried on, And the California evening rolled along. [Whispered] Colorado Boulevard... Glendale... The garage door closes... [Chorus] Killing cousins... riding through the night, Hillside Stranglers underneath the city lights, From Eagle Rock to Glendale, the shadows move, While the city doesn't know what they are about to do. Killing cousins... California's dark side, Ten young women and nowhere left to hide, Palm trees swaying underneath the stars... While the Hillside Stranglers leave their scars. [Verse 3 — geographical journey] From the bus stops down in Eagle Rock, To Hollywood apartments after dark, Tamarind Terrace, a door, a street, Another stranger they were waiting to meet. Highland Park heard the morning news, Two young girls disappeared from view, Elysian Heights beneath the sky, Another hillside watched the city drive by. Los Feliz beneath the freeway glow, Another body left below, La Crescenta in the morning rain, Another name added to the chain. [Pre-Chorus — building] Hollywood... Eagle Rock... Glendale... Highland Park... Los Feliz... La Crescenta... The city starts to understand... There's a killer in the hills. [Chorus — larger, orchestral] Killing cousins... riding through the night, Hillside Stranglers underneath the city lights, From Hollywood to Eagle Rock they came, And every hillside whispered their name. Killing cousins... shadows on the wall, Glendale garage where the nightmares called, Ten young lives beneath the California stars... And the Hillside Stranglers aren't very far. ________________________________________ [Instrumental Bridge — 1970s noir - Deep bass enters. Slow toms. Clean tremolo guitar. Distant police sirens. A Rhodes piano plays three descending chords] [Spoken, almost like a detective reading a case file] Forest Lawn Drive... Barham Boulevard... La Crescenta... Highland Park... Eagle Rock... Elysian Heights... Los Feliz... The hills above Los Angeles... One body... Then another... Then another... And suddenly... the city was afraid. [Verse 4 — investigation] Parker Center fills with names, Photographs and fingerprints and flames, Ten thousand clues beneath fluorescent light, Detectives chasing shadows every night. The newspapers give the nightmare a name, The Hillside Stranglers become a household phrase, Parents lock their doors and children stay inside, And every young woman looks twice before she rides. But the cousins disappear into the crowd, One talks smooth, one talks loud, One leaves Glendale, one stays behind, But the truth is waiting somewhere in the mind. [Bridge — whispered, then rising] One cousin runs... One cousin lies... One says there's another man inside... But the story starts to crack... The ghosts keep coming back... And every road leads home... Back to Glendale. [Final Chorus — slow, crushing] Killing cousins... beneath California skies, Hillside Stranglers... beautiful alibis, Hollywood was shining, while the darkness grew, And every empty hillside knew. Killing cousins... Colorado after dark, Seven-oh-three became a terrible mark, The upholstery shop behind the garage door, A place that looked ordinary no more. Killing cousins... the city still remembers, Ten candles burning through the cold November weather, From Eagle Rock to the Hollywood stars... The Hillside Stranglers left their scars. [Outro —