Ethan Daniel Davidson - Brian Deneke (1978-1997 R.i.p) Lyrics

Friday night, quarter after 11 A bone chilling cold December 12th Half dozen kids run screaming into the house of pancakes in Amarillo, Texas Crying "they've killed him, they've killed him" Cross the street in the parking lot of the Western Plaza Mall The broken body of Brian Deneke lies bleeding and bruised Run down in anger by teenager Dustin Camp His only murder weapon was his mother's Cadillac By a snowdrift as Brian lay dying in his brother's arms Dustin bragged "I'm a ninja in my Caddy And I hope he liked that"

Now I don't care where your philosophies run Or if you're a-waitin on a better world comin after this one But before you cry 'Violence' please let this song be sung And I'll show you how justice is done

Dustin Camp was a student at Tascosa High Played on the football team, made good grades, was generally well-liked Hung out with the kids in the white baseball caps The rich kids, the jocks, the student council members, the insiders But he was known for a temper which he couldn't control He had tried to run over other kids with his mom's Cadillac before Then on Saturday morning when the cops hauled him in for murder He told three different stories and went home a few hours later

Now I don't care where your philosophies run Or if you're a-waitin on a better world comin after this one But before you cry 'violence' please let this song be sung And I'll show you how justice is done

Brian Deneke was a kid you might not have welcomed into your home He had a blue-green Mohawk, wore a studded choke collar, carried a heavy chain He wore camouflage army fatigues, high-heeled combat boots And had a shirt which read: "destroy everything" He'd been arrested once for disorderly conduct and insulting a police officer A second time for throwing a rock through a car window Brian Deneke wasn't a saint but he was never a devil He was just a kid trying to bust his way out of Amarillo Just a kid trying hard to find some kind of freedom Just a kid judged as a criminal on face value by most who'd only ever seen him And a hero to the disaffected, misfit, alienated, outcast youth of Amarillo Who'd been beat-up and bruised by the kids in the white baseball caps Who'd been put-down and abused by the kids in the white baseball caps And called 'faggot' and 'freak' and far worse by the ninja in his cadillac Brian Deneke's aggressive search for independence in the face such repression Was the catalyst needed to ignite others' aggression He became a focus for Amarillo's fear of difference Killed for nothing, killed by ignorance, killed by intolerance Scapegoated and killed run down by Dustin Camp who's only defence Was that violence must be stopped with more violence

Now I don't care where your philosophies run Or if you're a-waitin on a better world comin after this one But before you cry 'violence' please let this song be sung And I'll show you how justice is done

Now we live in country not founded on privilege or kinship Where ideally no one is judged at first glance Our country is nothing if not a system of laws Which deals with each individual according to the way that he or she acts Now we all know too well of the violence in the schools And it's reassuring to believe there's equitable enforcement of our rules And if a young man commits murder he gets the punishment he deserves The reason justice wears a blindfold is to insure that her will is justly served So Dustin Camp stood trial for the murder of Brian Deneke He stood before a jury of twelve good Texans and true Who held in their hands the power of judgment, the power punishment They held in their hands the power of what justice would do And they looked at Dustin Camp and saw such a clean-cut kid Couldn't believe that he was guilty of the murder that he did And they were told of Brian Deneke and what a misfit he was What an outcast what a stranger what an alien what a freak that he was Couldn't even begin to conceive of just who's broken baby he was All they could imagine was what kind of geek that he was And they were left to judge Dustin Camp such a clean-cut kid Couldn't believe that he'd committed the cold-blooded murder he did But there were so many witnesses, his guilt couldn't be denied Now the only thing left for the jury to decide Was the value they would place on Brian Deneke's life So the jury strongly passed sentence pronounced the price of this crime And Amarillo proudly made a judgment on the worth of a human life And with a voice so loud so righteous so high Proclaimed punishment for a murderer found guilty fairly tried And said 'we the jury have come to decide' To sentence the Cadillac ninja to probation And an anger management class

Now I couldn't care less where your philosophies run Or if you're a-waitin on a better world comin after this one But please cry out 'Violence' at the top of your lungs Justice was never done