In Memory of Arthur Labinjo-Hughes [aged 6]

 “What's The Matter Here?"

That young boy without a name anywhere I'd know his face. 

In this city the kid's my favorite. 

I've seen him. I see him every day. 

Seen him run outside looking for a place to hide from his father, 

the kid half naked and said to myself "O, what's the matter here?" 

I'm tired of the excuses everybody uses, he's their kid I stay out of it, 

but who gave you the right to do this? 

We live on Morgan Street; 

just ten feet between and his mother, I never see her, 

but her screams and cussing, I hear them every day. 

Threats like: "If you don't mind I will beat on your behind," 

"Slap you, slap you silly." 

made me say, "O, what's the matter here?"

I'm tired of the excuses everybody uses, he's your kid, do as you see fit, 

but get this through that I don't approve of what you did to your own flesh and blood. 

"If you don't sit on this chair straight 

I'll take this belt from around my waist and don't think that I won't use it!" 

Answer me and take your time, 

what could be the awful crime he could do at such young an age? 

If I'm the only witness to your madness offer me some words to balance out what I see and what I hear. 

Oh these cold and lowly things that you do I suppose you do because he belongs to you and instead of love and the feel of warmth you've given him these cuts and sores don't heal with time or with age. 

And I want to say "What's the Matter here?" 

But I don't dare say. . . . . . . . . . . 

Natalie Merchant/ Robert Buck

Arthur Labinjo-Hughes was a little six year old boy killed by his father and his partner who both tortured and abused him until he died. The girlfriend has been given 29 years life sentence for murder and the boy's father 21 for manslaughter. This little six year old boy was given into the 'care' of his father after his mother was sentenced for stabbing someone. Arthur was tortured, beaten, starved and bullied to death. (he had 137 bruised injuries when he died that the judge described as commensurate with a high speed car crash) they filmed his abuse.

When his so called carer, the girlfriend of his father said he was being a pain his father texted back “End him!”

She blamed the little boy! Neither have expressed any remorse! They called 999 and blamed the little boy who had been filmed saying “Nobody loves me.”

He was frequently forced to stand for hours (sometimes up to 14) by the front door, he had his food laced with salt and enough to poison him. On one occasion before his death, Arthur told his father: "I am in danger with you, dad".

The case had two unique aspects that I noted. The jurors were told such was the nature of such harrowing evidence that they would never have to serve on a jury ever again for the rest of their lives. The jury in response asked for a minutes silence in advance of the convictions for Arthur which has never been heard of before in a court of law. 

The judge granted them their wish

Please be warned these accounts from the BBC contain extremely distressing details about this little boy's short life:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-birmingham-59489765

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-59522243

For little children lost to us by the hands that should have been caring, nurturing and loving them . . . . . . . . . these songs always struck me

• Like many songs on the album, "What's The Matter Here?" is a powerful piece of social commentary, in this instance about child abuse. Natalie Merchant sings from the perspective of a woman how lives near a family that is abusing their young son. She deplores the abuse, but isn't sure what to do about it. Afraid to take action, she wants to confront the family and ask, "What's the Matter here?" but she doesn't dare.
  
  The Suzanne Vega hit "Luka," from a year earlier, has similar subject matter.
• Natalie Merchant explained the inspiration for this song during her 1998 VH1 Storytellers performance: "It was a song I wrote about a little boy who was neglected and abused. In my neighborhood there was a house that was one of these houses that had kind of a black aura about it - you would walk on the other side of the street so you didn't have to walk in front of it. It had a garbage-strewn yard; broken windows stuffed with rags; a large, vicious dog on a short leash that had dug a circular circumference into the yard over years of running in circles; a battered upholstered couch on the porch.
  
  But at this particular house there was also a little boy. A very beautiful, harmless, innocent child. I'd see him playing on the front steps with a broken toy or maybe digging in the dirt with a spoon - he liked to do that. But every time I would walk by the house I would hear this voice coming out of the open door screaming obscenities at him. And I never really understood why - I mean, what can he do?"
• Merchant wrote this song with the band's guitarist Robert Buck. They collaborated on several tracks for the band, including "Hey Jack Kerouac," "Cherry Tree" and "City of Angels." They would write by Buck coming up with some music with the band, and then Merchant forming a vocal melody around it. She would then rough out the lyrics, which Buck referred to as "tone poems," since she was working from the musical tones. Once she had a story and a structure, she would flesh out the lyrics. According to bass player Steven Gustafson, they often didn't know what the song was about until they started recording it.
  
  
  
  

Suzanne Vega  - Luka

Tom Waits - Georgia Lee

why wasn't god watching . . . . . . . . why wasn't god listening . . . . . why wasn't god there for Georgia Lee

(in memory of Georgia Lee Moses)

and finally  . . . . . . again