10 Songs That Have Been Used to Torture Prisoners

10 Songs Used To Torture Inmates

Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we’ll be looking at the most prominent songs that have been used to drive prison inmates up the wall, with the goal of breaking them down.

The “Saturday Night Fever” soundtrack (1977)

Bee Gees

The “Saturday Night Fever” soundtrack is one of the best-selling albums of all time. Hence, there are undoubtedly millions who have listened to it over and over and over again. However, most of those people did so of their own volition and at a volume that was generally safe for their eardrums. Unfortunately, the opposite was true for a number of prisoners at the Guantanamo Bay detention camp. Multiple former detainees have written about the prison’s use of loud music as a torture and interogation tool. According to one report, inmates were locked inside wooden boxes and force-fed the entire “Saturday Night Fever” soundtrack night after night. Just the thought of it gives us night fevers!

The Meow Mix Jingle

Declassified CIA reports have revealed two criteria used by the agency when selecting songs to wear down prisoners: they had to be either offensive or just plain annoying. The Meow Mix jingle perfectly fits into the latter category. Sure, it’s cute the first time you see the commercial with the singing cats. And it might even still be charming on a 100th viewing. But imagine hearing it 100 times in a row on a constant loop. Terrifying, right? Meow Mix might be so good that cats ask for it by name, but listening to the jingle on repeat is so annoying, we wouldn’t be surprised if inmates confessed names just to make it stop.

“Take Your Best Shot” (2001)

Dope

If you’re someone who has never been subjected to torture, you may think getting beat up would be far tougher than enduring loud, nonstop music. But according to former Guantanamo prisoner Ruhal Ahmed, that notion may not be so correct. It might sound crazy, but as Ahmed told the legal non-profit Reprieve, you can brace yourself mentally for the physical assaults. Psychological torture however? Not a chance. One of the songs on the torment playlist in Guantanamo Bay was apparently “Take Your Best Shot” by Dope. Ahmed described prisoners losing their minds from the constant noise, ending up so messed up that the information they provided was practically useless.

“Baby Shark” (2015)

Pinkfong

Any parent of a young child who's been forced to listen to “Baby Shark” on repeat has no doubt deemed it cruel punishment. But in 2023, an Oklahoma County Special Judge made it official. Not for parents though, but for four inmates at an Oklahoma jail. These individuals were forced to listen to the song blasted on repeat as a form of punishment. In a subsequent lawsuit, they accused two jail officers, Christian Miles and Gregory Butler Jr., of using harsh techniques, like forcing them to stand in stress positions for long periods. And of course, subjecting them to “Baby Shark” at such a loud volume “that it was reverberating down the hallways.”

“Bodies” (2001)

Drowning Pool
“Bodies” by Drowning Pool is a song about the sanctity of the moshpit and respect for the other individuals in the space. However, the constant lyrical refrain of “let the bodies hit the floor” has led to the track being misinterpreted as condoning violence. This misunderstanding got it pulled from the radio after the 9/11 attacks. Despite this temporary ban, “Bodies” was used by interrogators at Guantanamo Bay during their interrogation of Mohamedou Ould Salahi, a suspected terrorist. The song was reportedly played for 10 days straight while Salahi was also “exposed to variable lighting patterns”.

“Babylon” (1999)

David Gray
“Babylon”, a tune about “a love that is lost and found again,” has been referred to as the signature song of British singer-songwriter David Gray. However, it gained an unexpected reputation as one of the favorites in the CIA’s music torture playlist at Guantanamo Bay in the 2000s. This disturbing fact was first revealed in 2008 when prisoner Haj Ali told of his experiences being stripped, handcuffed and force-fed the song at a mind-numbingly loud volume. Needless to say, Gray was not happy with this misuse of his work and he stepped up to advocate against the broader practice of using music for torture.

“Enter Sandman” (1991)

Metallica
“Enter Sandman”, Metallica’s song about a child’s nightmares, became a real-life nightmare for many Iraqi prisoners during the War on Terror. U.S. interrogators used the metal classic to break captives, and Metallica lead singer James Hetfield wasn’t that upset by it. In a 2017 interview with Thrasher Magazine, he admitted that once their music is released into the world, they have no control over how it is used. He added, “I’m honored my country is using something to help us stay safe, if they are.” Although if the CIA and the U.S. Military had downloaded the song illegally, we’re sure Hetfield would’ve been furious about it.

“Dirrty” (2002)

Christina Aguilera feat. Redman
The use of music as a tool of psychological torture wasn’t just about playing a song really loud. The choice of song was often a key part of the plan. As was the case with Christina Aguilera’s “Dirrty,” which was used on Mohammed al-Qahtani, the alleged 20th hijacker of the 9/11 attacks, to offend his observant Muslim sensibilities. The over-sexualized lyrics fit in with other such tactics, which also included female interrogators going topless and giving forced lap dances to the prisoners. They even smeared red liquid on the detainees, claiming it was menstrual blood.

“The Real Slim Shady” (2000)

Eminem
There are conflicting reports as to whether it was Eminem’s song “The Real Slim Shady” or his entire sophomore album, “The Slim Shady LP” that was played on a loop for up to 20 days. Maybe it was both? What really matters though is that, according to some CIA operatives, when discussing this song (as well as others), “The music was so foreign to them it made them frantic”. Frantic seems like an understatement when you hear what one former Guantanamo prisoner said. Discussing the relentless background music, Binyam Mohamed detailed how it got so bad that it reportedly even drove some of the prisoners to harm themselves.

The “Barney & Friends” Theme Song

Yup, it’s true. The CIA used this famously annoying children’s show theme song to aggravate prisoners so much that it became their “most overused torture song,” according to The Guardian. The idea of this tune being used in that way seemed laughable to its composer Bob Singleton. “It seemed so ludicrous that something totally innocuous for children could threaten the mental state of an adult,” he said. He also added that while it might be annoying, “it [wouldn’t] break me down and make me confess to crimes against humanity.” Fortunately, he’s never had to endure it blasted on repeat at deafening volumes. Speaking of children’s show theme songs, we have to mention another torture favorite: (xref) The Sesame Street song.

What do you think about these songs and how they were used? Let us know in the comments.