The Ultimate Solution

© G.J. Griffin, 1988

Vocal, acoustic guitar, lap steel guitar – Gerry Griffin / Background vocal, thumb piano – Heather Houston / Upright bass – Andy Roberts / Drums – T. Bruce Wittet

I was in Tampa, Florida on vacation and read this story in a local neighbourhood newspaper. It was mentioned almost as an afterthought amongst a bevy of road rage shooting incidents.

It was a cool spring day
The sun shone clear
A guy with better things to do was hanging out
He was a desperate man
With some kind of plan
No good was to be had all around.

It was the ultimate solution
To the problem at hand
It was the ultimate confusion
Taking trouble by the hand.

It was, as they say
A quiet day
A young man played a video game
The clerk who dozed
Woke with a start
The first shot went through the counter and his heart
The second left the young man dead
For seventeen bucks, a six pack and some cigarettes.

It was the ultimate solution
It was the ultimate confusion.

The mother said “Oh no, oh no, oh no, oh no.”
The father said “Oh no, oh no, oh no, oh no.”

It was the ultimate solution
To the problem at hand
It was the ultimate confusion
Taking trouble by the hand.

It was the ultimate conclusion.

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