Music

Michael Jackson's new album has a song about child sexual abuse

by Mark Teo

Where were you when you found out about Michael Jackson’s death? It’s a fact most music fans can answer off the cuff. (I, for example, was waiting in line outside of Toronto music venue The Phoenix before a Propagandhi show.) Indeed, MJ’s death was something that united music fans of all stripes—and despite the ongoing allegations of child molestation, when Jackson died, we united to focus on one thing: His timeless music.

Expect that, however, to change soon—because as Spin notes, Jackson’s posthumous album, Xscape, will have a song directly addressing the sexual abuse of children: It’s called “Do You Know Where Your Children Are.”

In case you were wondering, yes, Jackson has a new forthcoming album—Xscape will hope to modernize Jackson’s music. With Timbaland in the lead production seat, the album will feature eight tracks, but until today, we weren’t sure what they’d be called. We learned today, that “Do You Know Where Your Children Are” will be featured on the album.

Of course, for Jackson fans, the track isn’t strictly new. A version of the song—which will surely be altered on the album—appeared years ago. Listen to it below.

The song’s lyrics are actually quite explicit: “Do you know where your children are? Because it’s now 12:00. If they’re somewhere out on the street, just imagine how scared they are,” sings Jackson. “She wrote that she is tired of stepdaddy using her, saying that he’ll buy her things, while sexually abusing her.”

Jackson’s narrative also speaks to the child exploitation that occurs in Hollywood, directly addressing the issue of prostitution: “He’s taking her on the streets, of Sunset Boulevard, she’s selling her body hard, girl that will take you far,” he sings in the song’s final verse. “The police come ’round the corner, somebody there they told. He’s arresting this little girl, that’s only 12 years old.”

Taken at face value, the song seems to be about Jackson distancing himself from the allegations of molestation. (“Save me from this living hell, save me cause I don’t wanna know,” he sings.) But undoubtedly, the song’s riff on ’90s PSAs is risky business, especially considering the allegations that trailed—and undoubtedly bothered—Jackson.

After all, his career was studded with accusations of molestation: In 1993, he was accused of molesting 14-year-old Jordan Chandler, which led to a string of tabloid explosions and a search of his Neverland ranch. He was again charged with four counts of molesting children in 2005; the trial eventually led to accusations of molestation from his former choreographer, Wade Robson. Robson’s revelations, meanwhile, led the tabloids to conclude that he’d spent $35 million to cover up the molestation of 24 boys.

Jackson, for his part, has always denied these allegations—and “Do You Know Where Your Children Are” seems to reiterate his denial. The inclusion of the song on Xscape, though, raises plenty of questions: Does it absolve Jackson? Or does it revive the debate over his innocence?