It’s possible that the central figure in “Psycho Killer” is lurking in the background of the album for much longer than just his theme song. In fact, he may also be hiding in this song too. Watch out! Think of “Who Is It?” as the first glimpse we get of him as he’s hanging out, obsessing over the object of his affection.

“Psycho Killer” is told from the perspective of its titular character, but it’s so much more eloquently delivered than this skittish poem in question, which may very well be delivered from the same figure. Why?

Because the psycho killer is a man of extremes, experiencing both intense moments of monologued self-awareness and crippling social anxiety that limits his vocabulary to about 20 words. His inability to balance these extremes accounts for why others see him as psychotic, and perhaps he really is. Or, perhaps he is a high-strung individual with an outsider self-image brought on by consistent social rejection. Being shunned from the bigger picture might leave him unprepared in matters of the heart, so he turns to unfulfilled base instincts when interacting with other people. Maybe he’s not as psycho as we thought, but just a little hopelessly self-conscious.

It’s also startlingly appropriate that David Byrne, of all people, made up these songs, and that Talking Heads, an offbeat, underground, art punk band with a contempt for the establishment, delivers such touching portraits of ostracized people.