We’ve updated our Terms of Use to reflect our new entity name and address. You can review the changes here.
We’ve updated our Terms of Use. You can review the changes here.

Ballad of Curtis Merton

from Welcome to the Revolution by Kyp Harness

/

lyrics

BALLAD OF CURTIS MERTON

Well that tiny little tyke that they called Little Boy Blue
When he walked in through the door and tracked mud across the floor
Has grown and left home, age twenty-two
Destination unknown, he hitched a ride out to
The outskirts of the city where he wandered ‘neath the stars
In the neon tangle of the freeway cars
And the allnight bars

Mom’s in the bathroom, she’s been in there all day
Before the mirror in her brassiere watching her hair turn grey
Dad’s very busy, he’s got his hands full
Watching TV at the same time as he does a crossword puzzle
Mom says to Dad: “Did you hear the back door slam?”
Dad says: “I’m gonna make a sandwich, did you buy any ham?”
When a news report interrupts Johnny’s next guest
About an all points bulletin for a man wanted for arrest
Somethin’ about a farm and fifteen people dead
But Mom’s gone to sleep
And Dad has gone to bed

Curtis Merton from Alberta called himself Billy the Kid
And always felt offended that no-one else did
He was the kind of guy who spent his life trying to fit in somewhere
And when he finally did he was so surprised that no-one seemed to care
That he left his wife and children and he bought some ammunition
And he drifted ’cross the country like a man on a mission
Afternoons in greasy spoons where he drank a dozen beers
With his red winter stocking cap pulled down over his ears
She came in through the door like a breath of spring
With her knee-high boots and her low cut blouse
Curtis Merton smiled, he heard his heart sing
If he ever had a grip on anything at all He lost it now

The snow it was a-fallin’ all the way down Highway 7
Visibility was poor, they said a blizzard was a-comin’
A man in rags in the parking lot stood underneath a light
And introduced himself as John the Baptist to all the passersby
She went up to the counter but they refused to serve her
She didn’t have no I.D., she was only seventeen
So Mighty Curtis Merton walked across the floor and stepped in
For the price of a glass of draught he bought himself a new friend
Her hair was black as night and the fire in her eyes
Made him feel alive like he never had before
It had just been thirteen days since she’d escaped the reservation
When Curtis Merton met her and they were seen walking together Out the door

In every town of every county ’cross the country in the night
The news reports of what occurred sped blindly in their flight
Across the land on newsstands and it was written in the lights
Of the neon signs and in the headlines of the times in black and white
All about the body they found lyin’ in the gully
And the broken man on the witness stand who hid his face and screamed
Commentators and speculators and assorted personalities
Questioned, all agreed it was a dreadful thing indeed

And Mom’s in the toilet with her head between her knees
Dad’s changing channels, tryin’ to change what he sees
Could have been another movie, could have been a documentary
Could have been an advertisement for a life insurance policy
Payments to a company on a mortgage for eternity
On a broken down shack in the suburbs where every bed is empty

And that tiny little tyke they called Little Boy Blue
When he walked in through the door and tracked mud across the floor
Has grown and left home, age twenty-two
Destination unknown, he hitched a ride out to
The outskirts of the city where he wandered ’neath the stars
In the neon tangle of the freeway cars And the allnight bars.

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

credits

from Welcome to the Revolution, released September 2, 2014

license

all rights reserved

tags

about

Kyp Harness image

Kyp Harness Toronto, Ontario

contact / help

Contact Kyp Harness

Streaming and
Download help

Redeem code

Report this track or account

If you like Kyp Harness, you may also like:

Bandcamp Daily  your guide to the world of Bandcamp

On Bandcamp Radio

Saxophonist Isaiah Collier chats about his new LP and the influence of Pharoah Sanders.
listen now