Jim Wise

[Verse 1]

Spent the day with my dad

And his old friend, Jim Wise

He's on house arrest

And he sits around inside

We brought him food from Panera Bread

The snoring son rolled out of bed

He talked about his '90 Corvette

His warehouse job and his knee replacement

[Verse 2]

Jim Wise mercy-killed his wife

In a hospital at her bedside

Then he put the gun to his head

And it jammed and he didn't die

He waits trial all summer long

And his eyes welled up when he told us

About how much she loved the backyard garden

And the budding rosebush

[Refrain]

She loved the garden

And its budding rosebush

Spent the day with my dad

And his friend, Jim Wise

[Verse 3]

Spent the day with my dad

And his old friend, Jim Wise

He's got a big, thick ankle bracelet

And he can't go outside

He's got a long white Amishman's beard

And a catheter

And he'll be headed to Mansfield Prison

By the end of the year, for sure

His shelves are sticky, old, ratty books

His albums are The Doors and Stevie Nicks

His kitchen cabinets are full of baked beans

His TV is silent, words flash across the screen

And he stares off into dead air

[Verse 4]

Jim Wise killed his wife out of love for her

At her bedside

And then, he put the gun to his head

But he failed at suicide

His trial's coming up in the fall

And he sighed when we stepped out and we left

And I pointed out the pretty cardinal

Perched on the empty birdbath

[Refrain]

The bright red cardinal

The empty birdbath

I spent today with my dad

And his friend, Jim Wise