Richfield Whistle

My name is James Lucas

I was born in Remington

And paroled from Richfield Prison

In the winter of '81

I was free and on the streets of Indiana

I'd just turned 32

Just a man with nowhere left to run

No different, sir, than you

Me and Pat, we married in the spring

Moved in with her Ma and Pa

On our wedding night, she sighed, "Jimmy

We can have anything we want"

It was for those things we wanted

We worked as hard as two people could

But somehow in the end, mister

This didn't do no good

The prison got me drivin' delivery

For Mr. Wills over in Ridgeside

Well, I started loadin' a little extra

And I'd sell it on the side

I didn't like what I was doin'

I didn't lose no sleep at night

Mr. Wills, he was a rich man

He'd been a rich man all his life

I was on the loadin' dock one evenin'

When I heard the warehouse phone

The dispatcher said, "Jim, they wanna see you

In the front office 'fore you go home"

All Mr. Wills said was, "I don't understand

I could send you back to Richfield fast

If you needed some extra money, Jim

All you had to do was ask"

Well, that night me and Pat, we had a fight

I was out drivin' 'round in the rain

With a fifth of gin and a half tank of gas

And ten dollars to my name

I passed a deserted liquor store

Way out on Highway 1

I turned and pulled into that parking lot

Got out, but I let my motor run

Well, I stood lookin' in the window

For a long, long while

When I walked in, the man behind the register

He looked at me and smiled

"That's some weather we're havin' out there

Can I help you find somethin', friend?"

I didn't answer, I just stood there

Then I turned around and went

I don't know how long I sat in my driveway

My shirt was covered in sweat

The house was dark when I went in

Pat was lyin' awake in bed

She hit the light, I was standin' in the doorway

She said, "I was worried, where you'd been so long?"

I felt her arms around me

She said, "Jimmy, I'm so glad you're home"

Richfield Prison stands on a high hill

Where the county line runs out

There's a whistle, blows every time a man comes in

Or a man gets out

That night, we lay wrapped in each other's arms

Listenin' to the rain

I heard that Richfield whistle blowin'

Just blowin' in my dreams