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The Foul Stench of Bellaire

from Dear Santa by Doug McKean

/

lyrics

Two pops fill the air and soon we will find
As a young boy's body goes down
There's no God in heaven, just a thin blue line
Between the protected and bound

Mr McGinty: "This case sure is tough
It was all just a misunderstanding
But look at the poor man he's suffered enough
He's fallen with no way of landing"

The family grieved, the community roared
The authorities struck up their sweeping
But the newspapers howled that the rug was engorged
As reckoning day came a-creeping

An unstable man, in a previous post
He'd been deemed unfit for duty
And now he'd move on, leaving his host
To carry that mournful beauty

As water finds its level, he's gone to where
He can roll in the muck 'neath the stench of Bellaire

The world spun round and the noise died down
They'd burned everything but his pride
But the boys in blue and the men in brown
Said they'd always stand by his side

Flanagan ran a disorderly ship
He'd developed a reputation
You averted your eyes and you gave him no lip
You minded your manners and station

He said "Timmy my boy, we've seen what they've done
You have no cause for hiding
Come down to Bellaire here's a badge and a gun
And a perch atop the law abiding"

I've travelled the world, but nothing compares
To the smell of the foul stench of Bellaire

Cudell Park gazebo sits haunted and bare
And flowers appear each November
Laid down for a young life shot down by a pair
Of men who try not to remember

The story I've told you has come to a close
And it's all such a dangerous business
To reach out your hand to forgive those
Who have yet to ask for forgiveness

Now you and I know that life isn't fair
But you've always a place in hell or Bellaire

credits

from Dear Santa, released November 22, 2019
Doug McKean: Vocals, guitar, bass, banjo
Meredith Pangrace: Accordion
Don Dixon: Drums

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Doug McKean Cleveland, Ohio

Catchy songs and biting lyrics with a variety of sounds ranging from punk to soul to folk.

New single 'The Stars Have All Fallen from Your Sky' out now!

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