Your Kid Got AIDS

Another "topical song" as Phil Ochs called them. This one was inspired by a story about the Ray family from Florida who had three hemophiliac children that contracted AIDS through blood clotting medicine. It was similar to the story of Ryan White a few years earlier but the neighbors were even more reactionary.

Pediatric AIDS first came to the public's attention because of Ryan White, a hemophiliac that contracted AIDS through a blood treatment back in 1984. Doctors reassured people that he was not a risk to other students, but since AIDS was not understood at the time parents protested his return to school. His situation showed the public that AIDS wasn't just a "gay disease" and the media exposure helped the public understand HIV better. Though given only six months to live, Ryan lived five years longer than predicted and died in April 1990, one month before his high school graduation. Here's an interview with Ryan from 1986. 



You would think that by 1987 people would be better informed, but the Ray family of DeSoto County, Florida found out otherwise. The Ray children, two brothers and a sister, were all hemophiliacs who were thought to have become infected with the AIDS virus through contaminated blood-clotting drugs they were being treated with. The parents took the school system to court to force it to admit their children and a federal judge ruled that they be admitted to school. Neighbors protested and attacked the family. Finally a "suspicious" fire started in the children's bedroom destroying their house so they decided to leave town. You can read the original article HERE.

This has been called the best Vlad song ever by music critics. OK, by one music critic. Well, RMC works for a radio station and he can be critical sometimes. But he was just articulating what I'm sure is obvious to anyone who knows my music. With "Your Kid Got AIDS" my songwriting took a new turn--it had a point, it was carefully crafted and executed. It told a story rather than just being clever and provocative.

The version found on "This Machine Eats Bacon" was recorded in my bedroom with overdubbing done by bouncing between tape recorders through a mixer. I was listening to folk music at the time so you may notice a hint of "Greenback Dollar" by the Kingston Trio and close harmony inspired by the Everly Brothers.

you live in a nice suburban home
but somewhere down the line
things went wrong
your kid got sent home from school today
the neighbors said you'll have to move away
because your kid got AIDS
from a blood transfusion
now he's bound for expulsion
the neighbors want you out of town
or they will burn your house down to the ground

education is what they lacked
because you can't get AIDS from casual contact
you can't get AIDS from someone while you play
and you can't get AIDS just because your friend is gay
and your kid got AIDS
from a blood transfusion
now he's bound for expulsion
the neighbors want you out of town
or they will burn your house down to the ground

the junkie got AIDS 'cuz a needle he did share
his friends ignore him
and his family doesn't care
a kid got AIDS 'cuz a condom wasn't worn
and a baby got AIDS on the day that it was born
but your kid got AIDS
from a blood transfusion
now he's bound for expulsion
the neighbors want you out of town
or they will burn your house down to the ground

the parents try to get your kid expelled
they put your family through a private hell
they march around in a little picket line
a rock comes through the window
the phone rings off the hook
the woman at the market
gives you a dirty look
because your kid got AIDS
from a blood transfusion
now he's marked for execution
the neighbors want you out of town
or they will burn your house down to the ground
and they did burn your house down to the ground