Most of the song is from '82; the lead line at the end was written a few days before going into the studio.
This song draws extreme reactions from just about everyone who hears it. People either really like it, or they really hate it, all based on the lyrics. These were written "in character" as I'd done with plenty of other songs.
The lyrics were taken from a news story. It's common to us now, unfortunately; but then, entire towns being poisoned by dumping was still something of a novelty. In this case, a young kid got cancer because of something dumped near his school playground, years before. It got into the groundwater, spread out well beyond the dump site, and eventually surfaced through the playground soil. The child played in the dirt, got sick, lost the battle and died. The touch about the kid feeling responsible for it all was taken right from the story. I bring this up because there are those who feel I played it a little too heavy. Maybe it's presented that way. But it's taken straight from fact.
Instrumental note: the sound that resembles mellotron or string ensemble is actually guitar. The sound became a signature one for me, and is probably on just about everything I put out prior to leaving Los Angeles.
lyrics
Mommy took me to the hospital again today,
They gave me more of that medicine.
It makes your hair fall out.
The kids at school all laughed at me because I was bald
But all I did was play in the dirt,
That's really all I did
I just played in the dirt,
That's really all I did.
Daddy says it's 'cause of that big building that's next to the school.
They threw stuff in the ground that hurts people.
The doctor says I'm gonna die. I'll miss mom and dad
It makes me cry
'Cause all I did was play in the dirt
That's really all I did
I just played in the dirt
That's really all I did.
There's lots of kids in the hospital.
They're gonna die like me.
Some of them drank nasty water,
And some of them were born that way.
Some of them say that they're not scared,
But I hear them cry at night.
I wish I knew what I did wrong
So it could be all right
All I did was play in the dirt
That's really all I did
I just played in the dirt
That's really all I did
And I'll never, never, never do it again.
credits
from A Man Who Was Here,
released March 19, 2014
Lyrics & music: '82. Instruments: guitars, vocals, drums, 8-string bass.
The Long Island metal band's third album etches arena-sized hooks into their jagged compositions, deftly balancing experimental and poppy inclinations. Bandcamp Album of the Day May 12, 2022
