Dorothy Was Right, Though…

On Friday, after years of building up the courage to piss off my mum and dad (I’m 25 by the way) I finally had my first tattoo. It took some thought though.

You see I’ve wanted a tattoo for ages… I’ve gone over the idea in my head hundreds of times, thinking about what I wanted. My folks dislike tattoos, no matter how well done they are, and while I completely disagree with them, I did feel the need to make my first tattoo a meaningful one.

“I’m also more than far enough away from my mother for her to kick my arse…”

I’m a long way from home. 8,300 miles to be exact. Which means that not only do I get homesick every now and again, but I’m also more than far enough away from my mother for her to kick my arse…

I’ve always known that I wanted my first tattoo to be a special one. Something that was specific to me, my story and my life. Something football related was the most obvious choice, but music has also played a huge part in my upbringing.

While roadtripping with my girlfriend recently I was listening to the Arctic Monkeys’ ‘Favourite Worst Nightmare’ album when ‘Old Yellow Bricks’ came on. Firstly, I think that the Monkeys are my favourite, favourite band. I’ve seen them multiple times live and some of my best memories are of watching them at Old Trafford in Manchester.

I can literally listen to the AM’s back catalogue in full without wanting to skip a song, and the fact that, like me, they’re from Sheffield. Is something that has always resonated with me.

Anyway there’s a part in ‘Old Yellow Bricks’ where the music goes dead and then Alex Turner says ‘Dorothy was right, though’. It’s a line I love, but the first time I thought… Jeez, that’s a great line for a tattoo.

This line works for me on many levels. Firstly, the essence of it is that there is no place like home. Dorothy, from the Wizard of Oz, was right. I’m thousands of miles away from my home, but nothing will be able to replace Sheffield for me.

Secondly, it’s the Arctic Monkeys. A band from my city, a band that was the soundtrack to my youth, and it was written by Alex Turner, a man that I consider to be the best lyricist of this generation.

Thirdly, Wizard of Oz is a musical. Ever since I was a kid I’ve loved the theatre, as a possible contradiction to my love of hip-hop and grime, musicals are also a massive part of my life. My little brother and I don’t share too much in common, mainly because he got all of the family’s talent, but musicals and theatre is one thing we do have.

I knew that I was happy with the meaning of my tattoo,but I’m a bit of a baby really, so was nervous up until Thys at Fallen Heroes in Parkhurst first started. However, having seen the completed article about half an hour of work, I was dead chuffed.

Speaking of which, I’d recommend the Fallen Heroes crew to anyone in Jo’burg who wants work doing. They’re a cracking bunch and Thys is supremely good at what he does.

I’ll end this blog with some words of wisdom from my mum, who gave the most mum-like response when I actually showed her the finished article… “At least it’s neat!”, she said.

Dorothy was right, though.