An Ode To James

Lyrics

Introspoken, quiet, over rain and a slow piano

This one's for James.

Verse 1

Now this is a tale that ain't gonna tell well - it's sad, and it'll prob'ly make you mad as hell, 'cause man's best friend, yeah, he earned that fame, and my good buddy's name... was James.

He was a pup on a list from a Craigslister, with his brothers and his father, his mother and his sisters. Now a white German Shepherd's a little bit rare, and I needed some company - nobody was there.

It was after divorce, and thank God that was done, but what was breakin' my heart was the loss of my son: his mother decided to take him away, 'cause a lawyer was tellin' her just what to say.

My little man was four, just beginnin' to speak - I missed his first words 'cause of that freak. That lawyer soon passed - an attack of the heart... Not many do well after aimin' their dart at me.

Hooksung

Man's best friend - yeah, he earned that name. When everybody left, he was there all the same, white as the snow when the first winter came... Rest easy, my boy. My good buddy, James.

He ain't ask for much - just a hand and a home, and he made damn sure I was never alone. Now the leash on the hook and the bowl still remain... Rest easy, my boy. My good buddy, James.

Verse 2

It all got settled down in mediation, no family backin' me up in that situation - they weren't there to help me fight for what's mine, and I'll never forget it: that betrayal's lodged in my mind.

So I settled it out with joint custody - no time and no money for a war, you see? It was rock bottom, and man, it was rough, felt like somebody had slapped on the cuffs.

Now I ain't miss her - nah, not even a stitch; she made my life hell, I despised that she-witch. But a first-time dad gets attached a ton to his very first boy, his own little son.

So I branched out in a couple of ways: a fistful of earth just to start up my days, I read through the Bible, I kneeled and I prayed - it was all I could do just to keep the grief at bay.

Hooksung

Man's best friend - yeah, he earned that name. When everybody left, he was there all the same, white as the snow when the first winter came... Rest easy, my boy. My good buddy, James.

He ain't ask for much - just a hand and a home, and he made damn sure I was never alone. Now the leash on the hook and the bowl still remain... Rest easy, my boy. My good buddy, James.

Verse 3

Now James was the last of the males in the pack; he rode the whole way home curled up in my lap, then he shit on the floor and he pissed in my rack - but still, he was right there beside me when I napped.

He grew up so fast and became my alarm, alert and on guard, always watchin' for harm. Never once bit me, even with a reprimand - that's how I learned why he's the best friend of man.

Now he wasn't perfect - none of us are, don't ya know? But I'll tell you one seed that never shoulda been sown: somethin' slipped in his food on the sly by a clown - poison or somethin'... and it took my boy down.

The vet said "leukemia" - I sat there in shock. He was fine a few weeks back, still runnin' the block... He was fine... he was fine...

Outrospoken, the beat drops out

Y'all know what? Fuck these rhymes. I wanna know who killed my friend James.