Too Much Blood

Album: Undercover (1983)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • This was inspired by Issei Sagawa, a Japanese student in Paris who killed and ate his girlfriend. He buried her bones (which he didn't eat), in a Park near The Stones recording studio in Paris.
  • Keith Richards was not at the recording session. Jim Barber, his guitar technician, plays in his place. He is credited on the album and went on to be a prolific session guitarist.
  • David Sanborn played sax, reggae session man Sly Dunbar played drums.
  • The video features Keith Richards and Ron Wood wielding chainsaws like guitars. It was shot in Mexico City.

Comments: 6

  • Sim from Cleveland RocksBill Wyman one of the most underrated bass players in the history of music. Killer bass on this song.
  • David from Sussex, NjAnother excellent book where Issei Saawa's crime is told is in John Dunning's Madly Murderous under the title "Linguistic Misunderstanding"
  • Matt from Boston, MaThe worst part of this is that he is now free and considered a sort of quasi-celebrity in Japan. He has given interviews where he tells what happened.

    "Truth is stranger than fiction."
  • Craig from Melbourne, AustraliaA great, fun song. Hilarious "rapping" by Jagger. The video for it is brilliant. No one can match this band.
  • Eden from Bismarck, NdAlso, Issei did not bury the bones, he put them in a suitcase (If I remember right he also had parts of her body in there as well) and was going to through it in the river but realized a couple was watching him, scared he quickly hid it under a bush. Not surprisingly the couple contacted authorities.
  • Stefano from Old Bridge, NjIssei Sagawa's victim was NOT his girlfriend; she was a fellow college student in Paris of Dutch origin with whom he became acquainted. He was attracted to her purely based on his cannibalistic sexual fetish, but he later found out that she had had some romantic feelings for him, which contributed to his deep retrospective regret over his crime. An excellent account of Sagawa's experiences can be found in an essay by popular counterculture British psychologist/author Colin Wilson, entitled "The Strange Crime of Issei Sagawa", printed in the excellent book Apocalypse Culture II, edited by Adam Parfrey (Feral House, 2000).
see more comments

Editor's Picks

Chris Fehn of Slipknot

Chris Fehn of SlipknotSongwriter Interviews

A drummer for one of the most successful metal bands of the last decade, Chris talks about what it's like writing and performing with Slipknot. Metal-neck is a factor.

Todd Rundgren

Todd RundgrenSongwriter Interviews

Todd Rundgren explains why he avoids "Hello It's Me," and what it was like producing Meat Loaf's Bat Out of Hell album.

Steve Cropper (Booker T & the MG's, Blues Brothers)

Steve Cropper (Booker T & the MG's, Blues Brothers)Songwriter Interviews

Steve Cropper on the making of "In the Midnight Hour," the chicken-wire scene in The Blues Brothers, and his 2021 album, Fire It Up.

Corey Hart

Corey HartSongwriter Interviews

The Canadian superstar talks about his sudden rise to fame, and tells the stories behind his hits "Sunglasses At Night," "Boy In The Box" and "Never Surrender."

Have Mercy! It's Wolfman Jack

Have Mercy! It's Wolfman JackSong Writing

The story of the legendary lupine DJ through the songs he inspired.

Producer Ron Nevison

Producer Ron NevisonSong Writing

Ron Nevison explains in very clear terms the Quadrophenia concept and how Heart staged their resurgence after being dropped by their record company.