[ Featuring John Hiatt ]
The message was sent
The task was done
Prayers offered up in the night
Face the light of the burning sun
My brother was dead
By his own hand
A gun in the glove box
'Cause he carried money
For my old man
They say he gambled
Friday's payroll
Found him in his car
In a cornfield
Twenty-one years old, oh, oh
He wanted to own
His own clothing store
Dressed like Sam Cooke
With the catholic girls
In his Fair lane Ford
Doing his job
Doing his best
Selling burnt orange
And avocado green kitchens
All across the Midwest
The favored one
Me and my brothers all knew
My mother loved him more
Than she knew
What to do
The message was sent
The truth to tell
The officer tried to catch her
As she wept and fell
My father screamed, "no"
And beat on the wall
Shook the foundations of the house
Shook the life out of us all
The priest came by
He was undeterred
There to explain the unexplainable
With god's word
The message was sent
A family gone
The death of a golden child
And nothing left to carry on
The message was sent
The task was done
Prayers offered up in the night
Faced the light of the burning sun
