Only One Shot

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About this song

A rat snake, a 9mm, and a ten-by-twelve fiberglass greenhouse with no earplugs. Seventies arena power pop about the loudest single shot of a man's life, and who the real problem was.

Lyrics

[Intro]

[Verse 1]
Ten foot by twelve, it's a fiberglass greenhouse,
Tomatoes on the left and the peppers on the right,
I went in for the hose on a hot Tuesday morning,
And five feet of rat snake was coiled up tight.

[Pre-Chorus]
Now the earplugs were out in the truck in the driveway,
And the driveway was further than I cared to go,
I had a nine on my hip, and a nine's not a twenty-two,
And a voice in my head said the dumbest thing I know:

[Chorus]
"It's only one shot!" (What?)
"It's only one shot!" (What'd you say?)
In a ten-by-twelve drum with the door pulled shut,
It's only one shot!

[Verse 2]
Well, the bang didn't leave, it went round and round the panels,
Off the roof, off the benches, and right back at me,
The tomatoes didn't flinch and the snake didn't argue,
And my ears started singing in a high, steady E.

[Chorus]
"It's only one shot!" (What?)
"It's only one shot!" (What'd you say?)
In a ten-by-twelve drum with the door pulled shut,
It's only one shot!

[Verse 3]
Now the watch on my wrist keeps the score of the noises,
Church is seventy-four, and the Rush show ninety-five,
When the fellas say, "Get it looked at," I say, "Blame it on Cheap Trick,
And a snake who was only out trying to survive."

[Bridge - half time]
But the rat snake was never the problem,
He was eating the mice that were eating the seed,
Not a drop of venom, just doing his job,
The problem in that greenhouse was me.

[Final Chorus]
It was only one shot! (What?)
It was only one shot! (What'd you say?)
Three days in a drum and it's ringing there still,
It was only one shot!
(WHAT?)

[Outro]
[one high guitar note, ringing]

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