THE FEELING BEHIND THE SONG
OUR STORY
I’ve worked in construction since I was fifteen. It’s been a huge part of my life, alongside music, and I now help run our family building company with my dad.
I know the banter, the early starts and the pressure to get on with the job. I also know that you can spend all day working beside someone without knowing what they’re going through.
WHY I STARTED SMILE IN THE DIRT
In December 2023, I lost my uncle to suicide.
He was a construction worker and a musician, and a huge influence on my life. He made me my first guitar when I was six, and he’s a big part of why I make music today.
Losing him is something I’m still trying to put into words. Smile in the Dirt grew out of that loss, my own experiences in construction and the feeling that we need to make it easier to say when we’re not alright.
“I smile in the dirt, but I’m not alright.”
That line is at the heart of it. Looking like you’re coping, having the banter and carrying on, while underneath there’s something nobody else can see.
I wrote Smile in the Dirt hoping to put that feeling into a song people could connect with. Something honest, with a chorus people could get behind.
Music has always helped me express things I struggle to say. My hope is that this song might help someone else find the words, or give a mate a reason to ask how they’re really doing.
TAKING IT FURTHER
Through Smile in the Dirt, we’re bringing people across construction together to start conversations and raise awareness and funds for mental health.
The campaign supports four beneficiary organisations: Lighthouse Charity, Mates in Mind, Mindflow and Brave & Determined. Each brings something valuable to the work of helping people and making support easier to find.
We’re also gathering voices from across the industry for a construction choir version of the song — people from sites, offices and trade counters, coming together to carry the message further.
I can’t know who this song will reach. But if it helps someone speak up, check in on a mate or feel less alone, that matters.
Strength isn’t silence.