song for theme #39B: Scapegoating

“Dirt’s My Name” by Stephen P. Cook

to be sung to the tune of a medley of  “Sympathy for the Devil” and (chorus only) “Jumping Jack Flash”

by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards / The Rolling Stones

I grew up with a loving mother

And I learned to value fair play

But they were times she was mean

‘Bout Grandpa she’d nothing good to say

We seldom visited this supposed bad man

Years later this became a bummer

When I learned how respected he was

This man the Golden Rule Plumber¹

This wasn’t right pal

Was not a fair game

It wasn’t right—

She said dirt’s his name

He’s to blame, blame, blame

Took a trip many hundreds of miles

By car with my children and wife

She brought the caged up cat along

Guess she needed the creature in her life

I supposedly let him escape

Out motel room door—my wife had a cow

The kids heard her dump on me real bad

‘Till from the bed springs there came a meow

This wasn’t right pal

Was not a fair game

It wasn’t right—

She said dirt’s my name

I’m to blame, blame, blame

My mother grew up not liking her nose

“Makes me look Jewish” she once said

Later I found in the family tree

A Jewish name among long ago dead²

If my mom had grown up in Germany

Instead of in the USA

Would Hitler³’s men have gassed her

In hellholes where he made Jews pay?

This wasn’t right pal

Was not a fair game

It wasn’t right—

He said dirt’s our⁴ name

We’re to blame, blame, blame

SONG—NOTES / COMMENTS     (this song is part of the author’s personal story)

1—This is an autobiographical song.  The author only saw his Grandpa a few times—the latter died when the former was ten years

      old. Many years latter the man’s business cards displaying this logo were discovered.

2—The supposed Jewish ancestor died in 19^th century Germany. The author has since enjoyed speculating about this being the

     genetic origin of his talent in math and physics. (While regrettably reinforcing stereotypes about Eastern European Jews, he

     viewed this supposed ancestry as a sort of status symbol!)  

3—Tragically a hateful man whose worldview was built around scapegoating perpetrated horrible genocide. 

4—Use of “our” suggests what many feel: in the desire to end genocide, “we are all Jews.”

Comment: this theme can promote carrying emotional baggage. For this theme’s value as emotional armor see the comment for theme #17A. Avoiding looking for others to blame may signal emotional maturity.