Law & Order ©2011 Robert George BMI

Sheriff Johnson left his father’s trailer
Then he drove those moonlit roads
And he thought about his re-election
And a lawman’s stubborn code
Well, he didn’t have his badge and sidearm
And he had an unmarked Ford
Thought how people in those hills
Useta run their basement stills
But it ain’t like that no more

Stuff had reached his southwest town
Up from smugglers on the border
And it’s all that he can do
To just maintain some law and order

He drove slowly down a country driveway
Careful not kick up dust
And he knew he’d make the Tucson paper
If he made this easy bust
Though that dealer just got outta prison
He should still be off the streets
Recently a jailhouse fink
Told the sheriff that he thinks
That he’s back to dealin’ weed

Then the sheriff grabbed his phone
And coulda speed-dialed some reporter
But a photo on his cell
Had changed his thoughts on law and order

Well, that dealer peeked out through his shade
Thought it was the sheriff by the gate
But he wore no badge upon his chest
And no forty-five or Kevlar vest

Though at first that dealer was suspicious
They still made a pact that night
If the dealer stayed away from schoolyards
Then the sheriff let him slide
But that lawman coulda called for back-up
Caught him with a coupla pounds
But he let that pusher off
Thought about his father’s cough
And he bought a quarter ounce

Cos his father’s pale n thin
And now his time is feelin’ shorter
And the photo on his smart phone
Has put a face on law and order