for Mindy McCready...

I Took a Bullet for You ©2013 Robert George BMI

My big brother Dan came runnin’ from that liquor store
I was on the corner watchin’ for the law
Dan’d tried to rob it with a kitchen knife
But beneath the drawer the owner had a .45
He was pointin’ right at Danny’s head
I jumped fast and got hit in the arm instead
Sirens echoed through the night
Dan said I was gonna be alright
As he left me lyin’ on the curb
He told me not to breathe a word to the cops

I said, “back when mom was trapped inside a Prozac jar
Daddy was in jail for stealin’ cars
It was me who made us both Spaghetti O’s
Cleaned the trailer up, filled the tub and scrubbed our clothes
So what makes you think that now
I would ever let you down
Cos there’s nothing that I wouldn’t do
Brother, I took a bullet for you”

I got off easy cos I was a juvenile
Danny got away and just went wild
Five years later he came beating on my door
Revolver in his hand and beggin’ me to help him score
Then he set his pistol down
Eyes looked cloudy as he paced around
And his mind was racin’ fast from speed
Said he owed some money on the street
Told him that I’d help him any honest way I could
He called me a traitor to my flesh n blood

I said, “back when mom was trapped inside a Prozac jar
Daddy was in jail for stealin’ cars
It was me who made us both Spaghetti O’s
Cleaned the trailer up, filled the tub and scrubbed our clothes
So what makes you think somehow
That I would betray you now
You know damn well that just isn’t true
Brother, I took a bullet for you”

Danny grabbed his gun and drove off in the dark
Found himself a lonely place to park
But when he pulled the trigger it just clicked
When he wasn’t Iookin’ I had emptied out his gun
Cos I took a bullet for my brother once
But that desp’rate night I took all six

Well, he came back to my trailer later on that night
Said his darkest hour shined a light
I said, “O I still relive that sad, sad day
When those cops and the ambulance drove away
So there’s just no way that now
I would ever let you down
Mom is gone and I can’t bear to lose you, too
Brother, I took a bullet for you”

He said he’d completely lost control
But I’d saved both his life and soul…