We Buried a Cop

Poor Mike from my 6th grade camp, he was born a little strange
And every time we played smear the queer he was beaten with soap in a pillow case
He'd cry out for us to stop, and I did, but not the other guys
And by the end of the week he'd locked himself in the bathroom and cried and cried
His Mom came to pick him up, and she chastised him for not making it through
She said, "Mike if you can't make it here you won't make it anywhere.
Oh, what's a mother to do?"

Sometimes you look at what you got
And it ain't what you want
Sometimes it feels like we buried a cop

I got called out to clean up a suicide hours after it occurred
A big house in the middle of nowhere,
The Daughter came out to the porch, and she signed my paperwork
Her hands were shaking so damn bad she could barely even write one word
She said her dad was losing land to the neighbor man
He thought it was all he had
She said, "I guess we weren't a good enough reason to live.
He's in the room to the back."

Sometimes you look at what you got
And it ain't what you want
Sometimes it feels like we buried a cop

Hank's Dad was never around, and his Mom was working most days
He spent a lot of time with his Grandma; she was pretty much his slave
He'd say, "Drive me to Mickey D's. I want a Happy Meal."
And she'd drive without complaint
And when the drive thru gave him the wrong toy, she'd argue and get it changed
It was hard for me to see,
But what his Grandma did for the love of that kid has always stayed with me

Sometimes you look at what you got
And it ain't what you want
Sometimes it feels like we buried a cop

Drop Sarah off with her parents and drive into the night
"That woman is a violent crime"
What's wrong with a better life?
Famous & married & twenty-five instead of night after horrible night
I'm too young to become a father
I hope her period arrives

Sometimes you look at what you got
And it ain't what you want
Sometimes it feels like we buried a cop