It was school day in January
At the funeral home in ‘72
When we got on a bus
Out to Arnold Avenue.
He was our classmate but
We didn’t know very much
About him; he was a freshman
Who liked performing arts.
Give me the gun, Chuckie
You don’t understand
Put down the gun, Chuckie
I’ve got my cold bullet now
Where did he get the gun?
The police said it was stolen.
But he left a letter saying
The owner wasn’t to blame.
Slipped a note under the door
And refused to come out.
The teacher tried to get the gun
Before he turned it on himself.
Give me the gun, Chuckie
You’ll never understand
Put down the gun, Chuckie
This cold bullet’s the answer
Rumors fly around in suicides
Like dad was hard on him
Or he had dark secrets at 14.
Whatever it was, he was hurting.
“American Pie” was Number 1
The war dragged on and on.
The country was in trouble
In more ways than one.
Give me the gun, Chuckie
Maybe you’ll understand
Put down the gun, Chuckie
Shot a cold bullet, I’m gone
January 7, 2025
A Celtic keening to our classmate Charles James McCarthy (1957-1972) who took his own life at the age of 14 in the Point Pleasant Boro High School vocal music office in Point Pleasant, New Jersey.
MULTIMEDIAMAN 