His family lives out in a gated community
It makes them believe in a magic immunity
'Armed Response' signs under the orange tree
And beyond the razor wire you can see the glittering sea
Cold-eyed cameras watch every door
There's no public access to the beach or the shore
Private patrol cars, but that's a joke
It's just two guys napping and sipping on Diet-Coke
And as the weekend comes, well, here's a thought -
Neighbours relax with guns and shooting sports
And most of the men going rat-a-tat-tat
Well, they haven't got any problem with that
Until one day, a stray bullet travelling straight
Adds our hero on his skateboard to the death rate
Leaving his mother inconsolable
And of course the gun law, it's controllable
And back by the gate
The patrol car glides
And bad luck stalks the roadsides
Who decides who holds and who doesn't hold the gun
And who's going to solve it with another one?
Who's going to solve it with another one?
The bus rolls through the steep streets nearby
In the late afternoons the long shadows, they soften and dry
The wooden beach houses; I see the chairs on the lawn
And books in the window, and an oncoming thunderstorm
And into the thickening sky I watch the bonfires flare
Black smoke melts into the blanket of night air
They threw a wreath into the ocean last night
It was bobbing beneath the stars and the moonlight
And back by the gate
The patrol car glides
And bad luck stalks the roadsides
Who decides who holds and who doesn't hold the gun
And who's going to solve it with another one?
Who's going to solve it with another one?
I'll meet you down by the water
I'll meet you down by the water