"Carmichael" lyrics

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 Anne
"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"

"Thank you chief, I sure would
He was a partner of mine
He was always very careful
And played it straight down the line"
One by one the officers spoke
And the service drew to a close
He had no living relatives
But his wife, who 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 this 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
But we both just couldn't stop laughing
It seemed so funny to us
We left our luggage back in the room and almost missed the bus
That was a great vacation
Maybe the best of all
But goddammit, Carmichael, you're dead now
And I'm talking to the wall"

The force got back to normal
Carmichael was replaced
For one year nobody parked a car
In Carmichael's space