Taken from Warde’s forthcoming fifth album, Rough Ride Home, the song was prompted by a public notice seeking witnesses and information concerning the sexual abuse of children at his former high school. The notice was photographed and shared in a school reunion Facebook group.

Seeing the notice raised difficult questions about what happened, who may have suspected something and why abuse can remain unspoken for so long.

“How many of you knew or at least suspected something?
And what did any of you do? I suspect nothing!”

The purpose of the song is to acknowledge the pain, encourage people to speak up and insist that protecting children must always come before protecting reputations.

Bulldoze challenges the shame and discomfort that can prevent communities from confronting abuse and uses anger and exaggeration to express the devastation of the victim. Despite its explosive chorus — “Bulldoze the whole damn town down” — the song is not a literal attack on the town or its people, rather, it considers what it might feel like to be a child who was abused and then left to live with the silence surrounding it. 

The full version of the song ends with a haunting piano performance by Pete Batt, evoking the loneliness of a child surrounded by the everyday noise and laughter of a school playground yet feeling completely alone.

Ultimately, ‘Bulldoze’ is simply a reaction to a subject rarely sung about and an attempt to imagine the emotions of a victim. As the song says, though: “If I’ve got your back up, I’d consider that a win.”

Credits

Warde Elliott - vocals, acoustic guitar
Pete Batt - piano, backing vocals
Paul Cartwright - bass, backing vocals
Fabio Pertile - guitars, backing vocals
Tony Floyd - drums
Ian Kitney - percussion

Lyrics
There’s not so many people ‘round since the last time I came
The streets are more deserted now. Many shops have no name.
Faded for lease signs, the only window decoration
Stefan’s old place burnt down twenty years ago and they still haven’t done the demolition

Bulldoze the whole damn town down I say
Bury the skeletons deep in the ground I say
Bulldoze it down - the whole damn town

We did a great deal with pride I guess
And growing up here seemed pretty nice
But there’s a ring of filth running around the old school
And the kids they paid the price
How many of you knew or at least suspected something?
And what did any of you do? I suspect nothing!

Bulldoze the whole damn town down I say…

Now, if I’ve got your back up, I’d consider that a win
Cause I say things deliberately just to get under your skin
And not much has changed in many ways, in so many years
And reading all the names throughout the garden has got me fighting back the tears

Bulldoze the whole damn town down I say …