a balladeer: Poster Child

The smell of the sage bush reaches your brain.
The scent of the pines from the snow-covered rain
you came out to Laramie, in search of a friend,
but the Wyoming wind wants to play with your pains.

Hang on, handsome,
we are going to get you out of here quick.
Hang on, handsome,
just wait, and watch out for the bicyclist.

The sun it goes down now, for a second black night,
it's you on the outskirts, not a soul here inside.
The beautiful sky has your last piece of hope,
the same old stars you saw through the telescope.

Hang on, handsome,
we are going to get you a new pair of shoes.
Hang on, handsome,
the bicyclist here, will know what to say and do.

<i>Jury selection begins today in Laramie, Wyoming, for the trial of 23 year-old Aaron McKinney.
McKinney faces charges of kidnapping, aggravated robbery and first-degree murder,
in the beating death one year ago of gay University of Wyoming student Matthew Sheppard.</i>

Hang on, handsome,
we are going to get you out of here quick.
Hang on, handsome,
just wait, and watch out for the bicyclist.

<i>According to police, early one morning they got a call about a fight down a neighborhood street.
Aaron McKinney and Russell Henderson spotted two young men slashing car tires, then got into a brawl.
After police broke up the fight, they looked inside McKinney's pick-up truck and found Shepard's credit card,
a blood-covered .357 magnum pistol, and a pair of leather shoes.
But none of it made sense until Sheppard was found beaten and unconscious tied to a fence.

Laramie, Wyoming is finally on the map. Across the country, everyone knows where Laramie is now, for all the wrong reasons.</i>