I was watching television when Bobby Kennedy died

I was only twelve years old 

But old enough to cry

I ran out into the garden somewhere

And quietly said a prayer

But that didn’t seem to matter,

because Bobby Kennedy died

 

I was kind of upset that no one was listening

I just wish they’d answered my prayers

I remember going to bed that night

dragging my feet on the stairs

 

My brother sprayed me with water the day Bobby Kennedy died

He had a brand-new water pistol

And his aim was rather good

I chased him out of the garden

And threw his pistol down

But that didn’t seem to matter

because nothing that day was good

 

Of course, death comes to all of us

Nobody lives forever

But here was a man who deserved much more

He was a man of his time, made to measure

 

I heard about Robert Kennedy on the television news

Come to think of it

I don’t think I ever heard anything good

On the television news

Just a man who lost his sons

Both killed by guns

Of course it wasn’t just a story

That rattled around my head

And the ending can’t be good when a good man lies dead.