Neil Young & Crazy Horse: Carmichael

A silk scarf and a napkin
Hidden in a drawer
Two hundred bucks in an envelope
Labeled Lenore'
"Maybe she shouldn't see this.
She should never know,"
Said the widow's best friend, Ann,
"I'll just take it and go."
"I'll give her the money later
Say it was in his shoe
That way she'll never find out
That'll do."

"Carmichael was a credit to the force in everything he did
It's like we got a big hole in our side where he fit
If any of you officers would like to say a word,
Now would be the time to be heard."

"Well, thank you, Chief, I sure would.
Carmichael was a partner of mine.
He was always very careful.
And he played it straight down the line."
One by one, the officers spoke
And the service came to a close
He had no living relatives but his wife
And she never showed
She just couldn't face the men
They all understood
They got in their cars
And drove home as directly as they could

"Carmichael, you asshole,"
the new widow sobbed beneath her veil
"Shot down in the line of duty
Is that how justice never fails?"
"I wish that things were better
When we said goodbye today
But we had our share of good times though
Along the way.

"Remember, hey Mr. Las Vegas,
You used to be so cool
We met Wayne Newton down at Pebble Beach
And you acted like a fool?
"We just couldn't stop laughing
It seemed so funny to us
We left our luggage back in the hotel
And almost missed the bus.

"That was a great vacation
Maybe the best of all
But God damn it, Carmichael, you're dead now
And I'm talkin' to the wall."
The force got back to normal
Carmichael was replaced
For one year nobody parked a car
In Carmichael's space.