Geoff Berner - One Shoe lyrics

He came to the door with a folder of prints Familiar clichés, traditional motifs He said I've got to do the feathers and the wolves for the money People eat them up But I've got some here that come from my own life A rusted car, a school fight Got my girlfriend deposed for three days It's called patience after the Guns and Roses song This one is called one shoe Neil Stonechild was frozen on the edge of Saskatoon Twelve years ago, and now the body and the case have been exhumed It's come to light That in the dead of winter nights cold and remote The Saskatoon police have taken men on one way rides Police chief quote It's happened more than once We fully admit that On behalf of the department I want to apologize We must take ownership of the things that have transpired Neil was seventeen In a group home for B&E Was in AA but had been drinking on the night That he and Jason knocked on doors Rang some bells Looking for a friend The cops where called The boys split up Fifteen minutes later Jason saw Neil Handcuffed and bleeding In the back of the cruiser Screaming looking scared “Help me! They're gonna k** me!” One Shoe Neil's body was discovered Five days later on the outskirts Jason gave two statements to police But they weren't taken The d**h deemed accidental The official version being That Neil Stonechild was on his way to turning himself in To an adult penitentiary at minus twenty-eight degrees With one shoe An inquiry was launched twelve years latter After Rodney Naistus froze to d**h And Lawrence Wegner froze to d**h And Lloyd Dustyhorn froze to d**h And Darrell Night almost did But lived to prove abduction and abandonment were common practice Still the original case files concerning Neil Were lost in renovations RCMP investigations Failed to find evidence for prosecution So in a cloud of suspicion The hearings start October Neil's mother just wants closure One shoe Neil Stonechild was a painter and a wrestler And I think he would'a liked this one Must of lost it running Should'a tied the laces Symbolizes something Mistakes, empty spaces, getting chased One shoe One shoe One shoe One shoe One shoe One