Keep a Little Dirt Under My Pillow for The Dirt Man

About

"Keep a Little Dirt Under My Pillow for The Dirt Man" or simply "Dirt Man" is a song by YouTuber Carter Vail that was popularized on TikTok in the spring of 2024, inspiring a series of remixes, sing-alongs and memes pertaining to the catchy melody and the mysterious "Dirt Man" character.

Origin

TikTok musical artist Carter Vail first posted the "Dirt Man" track on April 26th, 2024 (seen below), and received over 13.6 million views and 1.4 million likes in the course of a month and a half.^[1]

Lyrics:

We're guys, we
Keep a little under my pillow for the dirt man
In case he comes to town
Keep a little under my pillow for the dirt man
So he won't take me down
To his lair deep under the mountain
Underground, that's where he keeps his dirt.

Spread

The "Dirt Man" sound then saw viral spread on TikTok over the following months, with many posters creating their own versions. For example, TikToker @violadagoomba (seen below, left) created a choral chant version of the song on May 24th, 2024, earning over 4 million views and 331,000 likes in the course of two weeks.^[2]

On May 22nd, TikToker @adamtahere posted a version (seen below, right) using a talk box, earning over 511,000 likes and 4.7 million views in the course of two weeks, which was frequently reused by others.^[3]

As the sound continued to spread, users made videos depicting its character and elaborating Dirt Man lore. On May 8th, 2024, TikToker @callmedangolfofficial created a video (seen below, left) animating the original Carter Vail version, earning over 131,000 likes and 1.4 million views in one month.^[4]

In response to the continued covers and memes about the song, Carter Vail released a stitchable video with an open verse (seen below, right) on June 2nd for others to sing new lyrics over, earning over 16,800 likes and 119,000 views in two days.^[5]

Various Examples

Search Interest

Unavailable.

External References