From the recording The Flip Side: Well, what do we have here!
Living on the wrong side of the law, the protagonist is telling her story to a less than interested prison staffer, represented by Mike Cowie’s expressive trumpet, signing her into her new “lodgings”. Like many of the songs on this album, I recorded sound effects: This time, the heavy door slam echoing in Halifax’s Lord Nelson Hotel underground parking lot.
Lyrics
Detention Blues
by Karen Robinson
I started out needy…They said I got greedy…
Shoulda quit while I was ahead.
I kept getting’ bolder… I could be in clover
Judge said, “now its over”, instead
I need to find some peace of mind
I’ve been outsmarted again
They said I left a clue behind
So I’m caught red-handed again
I lost my head the lawyer said
So I’m in detention
Its not the worst. No, … not the first
I’ve been outsmarted again
Was lyin’ low. An’ I’d stashed the dough
I’m caught red-handed again
Was on the lam. Now I’m in a jam
I’m off the street
I killed the light, looked left and right
I’ve been outsmarted again
The coast was clear...there was no one near
But I’m caught red-handed again
Squeezed between, but I was seen
I went too far. They found the car
I am a pro, but here I go
I’m in the slammah again
I’m in detention
I’m off the street
I/m in the slammah… again
© 2011 Karen Robinson