THE 'DIRT MAN' TIKTOK SONG WILL BE STUCK IN YOUR HEAD FOR WEEKS
That One Soundis a column from internet culture reporter Charlotte Colombo that explores the origin of popular sounds heard on TikTok.
They say music brings people together, and that is precisely what we love about “Dirt Man.” The niche, surrealist sound has inspired reactions from every corner of the internet. And honestly, it exemplifies what TikTok is all about.
The sound
The song begins with a man breezily declaring how “we’re guys,” before launching into how, on account of this masculinity, we must “leave a little dirt under the pillow for the Dirt Man.”
Later on in the song we learn that the reason for this feverish dirt-hiding is so we don’t get taken down to the Dirt Man’s underground lair wherein—you guessed it —he has even more dirt. By the sounds of it, this Dirt Man might be some kind of anti Tooth Fairy.
The song was first uploaded to TikTok on April 27 by musician Carter Vail (@cartervailmusic). The simplicity and sheer weirdness of it all meant the song became a viral hit.