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lyrics

It was me and Parker’d been assigned the case
By lieutenant Flood, without a trail to chase
The thing was messy, so said the Sarge
A child missing, thieves at large—
It was your classic ransom, a demand to trade
The victims wealthy and so they could’ve paid
But to fool the bandits, the parents had tried
And so now the ‘Missing Person’ was a ‘Homicide’
Sarge looked at Flood and Flood met my eyes
Said, ‘I hope discretion you can exercise—'
‘If a man can’t do,’ said Parker, ‘what his bosses ask—
He ain’t fit to wear no gun and badge’

The grieving father, in a vengeful state
Hired on some outside associate
Nobody talkin saw what all went down
At that farm-house hide-out on the edge of town
Six men with escorts, all of them inside
When the building burned down, none survived—
One of the victims was Ms. Velma Pearl
And we soon found out she’d been Sarge’s girl—
So we went to Sarge with our discovery—
He dismissed us sayin ‘bring your report to me—
If he goes to pieces when he’s feelin torn—
That man ain’t fit to wear this uniform’

So it was me drove Parker along the killer’s route
to ask a few more question, see what we could find out
Up Dead Man’s Hill, as we approached the crest
Parker took two bullets—through the head and chest
And later that night—down in Evidence
Flood returned a rifle, and his innocence—
He never signed it, in or out, of course
But the bullets matched the ones in Parker’s corpse—
And I know he’ll say it when he takes the stand
He’ll tell you all about the chain of command
How if a man can’t do what his bosses ask:
That man ain’t fit to wear no gun and badge’

When you’re in the precinct, it’s like the corps
There’s a code of honor, an oath that’s swore
I asked the Sarge once about his divorce
He said ‘cop’s true love is always The Force’
When you’re on the force, the command’s a chain
And that’s the meaning behind everything
It’s all for one and one for all
Until your in trouble, then it’s “lowest takes the fall”
And I took an oath to protect and serve
But not men like these, that you can be sure of—
And if he can’t do right—or tell the truth when asked—
He shouldn’t wear no gun and badge

credits

from Too Much of a Good Thing, released October 8, 2023

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Sam Steffen Boise, Idaho

Sam Steffen is a Pennsylvania-bred, Boise-based singer-songwriter whose songs are the torch-wood for a new generation of folk music that has learned from the best stuff in the tradition and aims in spite of everything to keep the human spirit alive and kicking. A versatile musician and skilled finger-picker, Sam is at heart a story-teller, and a prolific one. ... more

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