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Ode To A Killing Man

from Dean Batstone - Loveskill by Dean Batstone

/

lyrics

Ode To A Killin’ Man
Copyright © 2017 words and music by Dean Batstone

A blue collar kind of handsome
Like the lead in a Springsteen song
He and Katey in a small house
Near North, Omaha
His high school love for Kate was strong
Whiskey always served it wrong
Clinton drank most days when work was through
Drownin’ stock yard worker’s blues

At night he came home with a hole in his heart
And a bottle in his hand
He took out his rage on Katey’s face
She feared him a killin’ man.

When Katey wasn’t hiding
She was scared to be alone
A beauty in her younger years
She spent long hours on the phone
Lying to her friends about falling down
Paralyzed by the haunting sound
Of his cursing voice coming through the door
His boots on a cold plank floor

Katey lay still with a hole in her heart
And a bread knife in her hand
He laughed ‘cause he knew she weren’t strong enough
To kill her a killin’ man.

Even thunder can be peaceful
If it’s far enough away
There’s no peace in the sound that comes crashing down
As your feet leave the ground and your head hits the wall again
The quiet thud from behind closed doors
Neighbours find ways to ignore
Is swallowed in a dissonance of pain
And the din of a steady rain

Katey crept out with a hole in her heart
And a note scratched on her hand
A cold in her eyes and a steel resolve
She’s gonna find her a killin’ man.


In the part of town that don’t shut down
With the stealth of a cold war spy
She finds the man they said she’d know
By the black behind his eyes
A photograph and a roll of bills
She’d squirrelled away for a righteous kill
One look at Kate, he had no words to say
He took the picture and walked away

Katey walked home with a hole in her heart
And a trembling in her hands
She waited in the dark on the back porch swing
For a sign of the killin’ man.

Turns out a shallow grave is plenty
For a man no one will miss
The scars on the face of the woman he made bleed
That’ll be his goodbye kiss
Katey reached to put cash in the hand
Of the one they called the killin’ man
He spat on the cold, fresh earth and turned to leave
And he said “This one’s on me”

Katey drove South for a brand new start
Drummin’ her blood-stained hands
She quietly hummed a song in her heart
It was an ode to the killin’ man.

credits

from Dean Batstone - Loveskill, released May 18, 2022
Gary Burke - Drums
Ryan Weber - Fretless Bass, Mellotron
Sam Weber - Electric guitars, Hammond Organ
Dean Batstone - Acoustic Guitar and Vocals

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Dean Batstone Ottawa, Ontario

DEAN BATSTONE - Bio
A veteran of the Canadian Music scene, having performed full time across Canada and The US for over 40 years, Dean Batstone shows no signs of slowing down anytime soon. A charismatic live performer who works solo or with a band, he has recorded 12 full length albums with some of the most iconic musicians in America. ... more

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