Mike Enright: Kill The Dogs (Like China Did)

Kill The Dogs (Like China Did)

The clip posted above was the primary source for this lyric. The 8mm footage starts with one of my father's attempts to inculcate his sons in the cult of football, endemic to Columbus where the action takes place. Soon Fritz the dachsund is introduced; my father plays with him; brother Pat plays with him; then puppy Fritz is biting Pat who runs away. The footage ends with Fritz knawing on a rope.

In the lyric the narrator assumes Pat's persona; frightened and upset he wonders why he can't just kill and eat dogs like the Chinese were rumoured to do. Finally the narrator relates his resentment at the emotional burden of caring for an animal. In real life Pat became very close to his various dogs and I became the man resenting emotional dependencies.

I'm not quite sure when I wrote the song. I hear a beat-box in the mix of the solo version, borrowed from David Solmonoff (of Cult de Ghouls) after late '79 when he became my 10th Street flatmate. When the tune was taken up by Desi, Desi, and Desi it became a mainstay of our set, always used to close performances. In live shows (especially at four or five in the morning at the A7 Club) we would occasionaly extend the thing to Grateful Dead-length while I wandered through a moshing audience doing skronk-guitar with a beer bottle. There might be a version on cassette somewhere.

This live recording of the tune includes me and Dennis DeMeo on guitar; unfortunately Byron wasn't with us by then. Mike McShane on drums and Fran Slater on bass also appear as usual. It was recorded with EV-legend Jerrry Williams at his 171A studio but it lacks the fire of club versions. You can hear a much-weirder, much-earlier solo recording of the song here.

When I think of my dog Fritz
Wonder how it came to this.
Sit up pretty, sit up Fritz—
We take movies and Fritzi sits.
Then he chased me cross the yard;
I was young and I was scared.
My own doggie tried to bite!
Babies dream of their teeth at night.

I said to kill the dogs, like China did.
Eat enough to feed the kids.
They bark, they bite, they shit on the street:
In the eighties we need the meat.

Seven years to every one of ours:
Get old fast and they still die young.
Eat dog food and they chew on bones,
Protect people in their homes.
If they like you it will show;
If you beat 'em they will go for your neck!
So kill 'em, while you can.
There's more dogs than Amer-I-cans.

I said to kill the dogs, like China did.
Eat enough to feed the kids.
They bark, they bite, they shit on the street:
In the eighties we need the meat.

Emotion centers just like mine;
I hurt their feelings all the time.
It was bound to happen,
I mean really, I mean wow!
Better do something right now!
The last thing that I need
Is an animal whose mind I have to read,
Another mouth to feed,
Another claim on my time
and my responsibilities.

Kill the dogs, like China did.
Eat enough to feed the kids.
They bark they bite they shit on the street:
In the eighties we need the meat.

Kill the dogs like China did,
Like China did, like China did.

Mike Enright, circa 1980