 " John Wayne Gacy , Jr . " documents the story of the 1970s Chicago @-@ based serial killer of the same name . Several lyrics make explicit references to events in his life : " [ w ] hen the <unk> hit his head " refers to an event in Gacy 's childhood , when a swing hit his head and caused a blood <unk> in his brain ; " He dressed up like a clown for them / with his face paint white and red " alludes to the nickname given to Gacy — the " Killer Clown " ; and " He put a cloth on their lips / <unk> hands , quiet kiss on the mouth " references Gacy 's use of <unk> to subdue and <unk> his victims . The song ends with the narrator turning inward with the lyrics : " And in my best behavior , I am really just like him / Look beneath the <unk> for the secrets I have hid . " Stevens stated in a 2009 interview with Paste that " we 're all capable of what [ Gacy ] did . " 
