Shamrock lyrics

She met him after summer school
Hiawatha bus stop
In a knockoff Celtics jacket
He said his crew, they call him Shamrock
His mother died when he was 5
And his dad’s some sort of drug cop
But the apple sometimes rolls way down the hill

Sabrina claims the South side
But really, she’s from Richfield
These invisible divisions never seem like such a big deal
She’s been working at a wine bar
Making jokes about the mouthfeel
She sometimes takes twenties from the till

Unprovokеd and unadorned
White t-shirts and cut-off shorts
Summer takеs a shapeless form
After dark and powder horn
If you pool your funds together
You’re barely ever broke
Walking up to SA to get smokes

In spring, they found some shambles
The south suburban sprawl
Sabrina’s taking classes
Shamrock’s hanging drywall
But his fingernails keep falling off
And he comes home mean and sore
Everyday he hates it more and more
And the years go by and life goes on
Nothing really happens
School became a drag
So she went back to be a waitress
There isn’t much to sit on
When the old crew comes to visit
So they all get high and pass out on the floor

Then Shamrock just stops working
Said, "It’s such a meagre pittance
Once they take the taxes out
It’s barely even worth it"
And the TV’s set to static
There’s drums off in the distance
And their daughter’s sleeping in a dresser drawer

Unprescribed and unfulfilled
Application’s special skills
She admits she sometimes still takes twenties from the till
Shamrock’s sick of trying to smile
When he’s holding in the smoke
Got talking to this guy he sort of knows

A call came in this evening
From the county credit union
Two guys with masks and pistols
Crashed in as they were closing
By the time the cruisers came around
They'd grabbed the cash and scattered
But the cameras always capture all the action
So a trooper pulled him over
On a vehicle description
At a Hampton Inn in Hudson
About a mile into Wisconsin
When the footage ran on News at 9
She could tell that it was Shamrock
In that ragged satin jacket that says “Boston”

Unrehearsed and unprepared
To be the only one who cares
For a daughter who keeps asking about her father

They pooled their funds together
But somehow she’s still broke
Walking up to Speedway to get smokes
Walking up to Speedway to get smokes