R.I.P. Slim Whitman, Singer of the Song in the Best Part Of House Of 1000 Corpses

One of cinema’s most memorable scenes belongs to a metal guy, Rob Zombie. His surging, noisy House Of 1,000 Corpses kinda crests when local cops make a gruesome discovery. Remember? Zombie shows fear and surprise washing over them, blanks out the soundtrack (except for a cut-away), and rolls “I Remember You” sung by Slim Whitman, who passed away today at 90. It’s a pretty song and a restrained, sweet performance (this version is jazzier); as such it seems incongruous, inserted by Zombie for contrast with the bloody horror that faces those polices. Cool.

But then a viewer is struck by the song’s last lyrics:

“When my life is through
And the angels ask me to recall
The thrill of them all
Then I will tell them
I remember youuuuuu.”

So that means the song’s narrator is the voice of the titular corpses, and the “you” is their killer. After their awful death, they’ll forever remember the faces of a ranting murderous hillbilly, Sid Haig, and that dismemberment robot. That is bone-chilling. So with a doff of the cap, let’s watch it (below NSFW)! Thanks Slim Whitman!