Come On Out

Album: Hollywood Park (2020)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • The Airborne Toxic Event frontman Mikel Jollett was born and raised in an experimental commune society called Synanon. Subjected to a childhood filled with poverty and emotional abuse, he ran away from home at the age of 11. This song chronicles his attempt to escape his difficult upbringing.

    Black lungs, headlights, heading off to the city tonight
    Out the front door, turn right, I was alone, alright alright alright
    I wonder what they'll think of me. I'll run away, run away


    Said Jollett: "It's a funny thing about child abuse that when you're still a kid you often don't even know it happened to you because of all the reinforcing narratives around you: that your feelings don't matter, that you're overreacting, that somehow you are in the wrong for being upset. That is all part of the abuse."
  • "Come On Out" is the lead single from Hollywood Park. The album acts as a companion piece to Jollett's 2020 memoir of the same name, which chronicles his tumultuous life. This brings things full circle as Jollett conceived The Airborne Toxic Event's 2008 eponymous debut album as a novel until he realized his writing went better with music.
  • The clip stars Jacob Sandler, who played the child version of Brad Pitt in the movie Ad Astra, as a young Mikel Jollett trying to escape his abusive household. The visual also features Bryce Patterson as a young Daren Taylor, Milo Borghello as a young Steven Chen and Jeremiah Gonzales as a young Adrian Rodriguez.

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Mike Love of The Beach Boys

Mike Love of The Beach BoysSongwriter Interviews

The lead singer/lyricist of The Beach Boys talks about coming up with the words for "Good Vibrations," "Fun, Fun, Fun," "Kokomo" and other classic songs.

Jim McCarty of The Yardbirds

Jim McCarty of The YardbirdsSongwriter Interviews

The Yardbirds drummer explains how they created their sound and talks about working with their famous guitarists.

American Hits With Foreign Titles

American Hits With Foreign TitlesSong Writing

What are the biggest US hits with French, Spanish (not "Rico Suave"), Italian, Scottish, Greek, and Japanese titles?

He Hit Me (And It Felt Like A Kiss): A History Of Abuse Pop

He Hit Me (And It Felt Like A Kiss): A History Of Abuse PopSong Writing

Songs that seem to glorify violence against women are often misinterpreted - but not always.

The Police

The PoliceFact or Fiction

Do their first three albums have French titles? Is "De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da" really meaningless? See if you can tell in this Fact or Fiction.

Laura Nyro

Laura NyroSongwriting Legends

Laura Nyro talks about her complex, emotionally rich songwriting and how she supports women's culture through her art.