Boy Next Door

Born at the end of a Minnesota freeze

Eldest child of Willy and Louise

His little sister died at the age of four

The family posed, led by Louise

Like right out of some kind of Rockwell scene

But Jake couldn't fake it anymore

Nobody heard the hammer fallin'

Sensed that judgment day was callin'

Nobody thought to fear the boy next door

Everybody loves to point their finger

They might as well have pulled the trigger

Nobody stopped to hear the boy next door

Willy later said, "He really should've known

The boy spent too much time on his own

And what was on his mind, God only knew"

One by one the neighbors went away

A gruesome little game Jake taught himself to play

His daddy always said, "Find something to do"

Nobody heard the hammer fallin'

Sensed that judgment day was callin'

Nobody thought to fear the boy next door

Everybody loves to point their finger

They might as well have pulled the trigger

Nobody stopped to hear the boy next door

One less mistake to think about

'Cause no one read the writing on the wall

So much for case 1239

Covered up, curled up in a ball

One little page in the history of crime

Lawyers made a fortune for their time

Seems an explanation was never found

And I hope this tale won't be misunderstood

Things ain't the same in every neighborhood

But before you go to sleep tonight, look around

Nobody heard the hammer fallin'

Sensed that judgment day was callin'

Nobody thought to fear the boy next door

Everybody loves to point their finger

They might as well have pulled the trigger

Nobody stopped to hear the boy next door