Song For Dennis Brown

on the day that dennis brown's lung collapsed, spring rain was misting down on kingston.

and down at the harbor, local cops were intercepting an inbound shipment.

and for a while there it was chaos

as they handcuffed and then roughed up some sailors.

on the day my lung collapses

it's not going to be much different.

on the day that dennis brown's habits caught up with him, school children sang in choirs.

and out behind the Chinese restaurants

guys were jumping into dumpsters.

and the stench was overbearing,

but they were past the point of caring.

on the day my habits catch up with me

I'll be down among the jumpers.

and when the birds come home in spring,

we will fill them full of buckshot.

and jets of contaminated blood

will cloud the rivers and the lakes.

it took all the coke in town to bring down dennis brown.

on the day my lung collapses

we'll see just how much it takes.