17 Dec 2008
I found Paul Gordon.
From time to time I'd Google him. He is such an amazing cartoonist I was sure I'd track him down somewhere, at some point...
His is the dog I'm borrowing in "Borrow the Dog".
Here we were, twentynothings. I was living on snickers bars I bought with change found between the cushions of the sofa and he was taking care of a dog. To have your own dog that you had to feed and care for... well, to me, that made you a man. It started me thinking about a man and his dog.
And while the original version is scribbled somewhere in one of those notebooks in that box under that other box in the closet, the version that survived speaks to those basic needs in a changing world, some simple notions: Friendship. Sustenance. Protection...
Borrow the Dog
Hey, can I borrow the dog
she needs attention and
I need some company
Hey, can I borrow the dog
there's a bird that I'd like to try
still flying in the sky
my aim has gotten cold.
I shoot to kill
right between the eyes
she smells the blood
brings our supper home
Dog gets the bones
King finds his throne
man takes a life
to save his own
Hey, can I borrow the dog
these streets have gotten hard
she'll help keep harm away
Hey, can I borrow your gun
once I thought peace and love
now I don't trust no one
nothings before
in this changing millenium
I shoot to kill
right between the eyes
she smells the blood
brings our supper home
Dog gets the bones
King finds his throne
man takes a life
to save his own
