Here’s something I need to get off my chest.
Last month a girl named Ashley was murdered in my town. She was fourteen years old and a freshman in high school. She was stabbed and her body was found lying in a pool of blood behind a Pizza Hut. I never met her, but I read about her in the newspaper. I was extremely moved by her story, which struck me as tragically poignant. At the same time, my band was reforming under the name Static Automatic, and I was looking for lyric ideas. I was haunted by Ashley’s story and I felt it would make a good song. So I put pen to paper and here’s what I came up with:
(Down, Down, Down; lyrics & music by Static Automatic; copyright 2000)
There but for the grace of God go I
Fourteen years old, she was too young to die
Taken before she even had time to live
Nothing more to see or say or give
And it’s bringing me down, down, down
Ashley, who could do this thing to you
Something just too evil to be true
I can’t hide my disillusionment
Your innocence destroyed and that’s where it went
I hope that now you’re in a better place
Cause what they did to you is such a disgrace
There’s no excuse for what they put you through
Now there’s nothing anyone can do
That’s for Ashley. I never knew her, I don’t know her family, but I cry for her. No matter what she may have done, there is no justifiacation, in my opinion, to murder a child. And as long as I can help it, she will not be fortgotten, for I plan to introduce that song with a dedication to her each time I perform it.