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Rocco and Bessie

from Flashbacks by Mark McNeil

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about

Rocco Perri and Bessie Starkman were notorious gangsters in Hamilton, Ontario who used to say they were only providing a service by selling illegal booze. But things got a little out of hand. It started with love, blossomed into a lucrative criminal empire and then ended in bloodshed.

lyrics

ROCCO AND BESSIE
When Rocco and Bessie went out for a stroll
He wore a fedora, she a mink stole
Starched collars, shiny shoes
Pearls in the afternoon.
They were two gangsters in love.

Everyone knew where the money came from
Running cases of whisky and rum.
Long as things stay
They’ll be making their way
As two gangsters in love

A bootlegger king
And moonshine queen
In a kingdom that condoned their crimes
They tried to say no one ever got hurt
But gangsters sometimes lie

They must have been gunning for Rocco that night
But somehow Bessie got caught in their sights
The last words she cried
Before she died
‘Rocco, we were so in love.’

Rocco broke down
Put his head to her breast
And screamed out into the night
‘How did it come to be this way?
No one was supposed to die.’

Now some people say he went away
But most think he’s lying on the bottom of the bay
And when the wave’s high
You can hear a lonely cry
‘Bessie we were so in love.
Bessie, we were so in love.’

credits

from Flashbacks, released February 9, 2015
Mark McNeil, vocals, background vocals, guitar, bass, percussion; Gordon Odegaard, background vocals.

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Mark McNeil and Kris Rochard image

Mark McNeil and Kris Rochard Hamilton, Ontario

Mark McNeil and Kris Rochard were founding members of the popular Hamilton group The Lowest Lanes that played clubs and twice performed at The Festival of Friends. After the group disbanded in 2009, Mark and Kris got together to focus on songwriting and recording. One of the cuts has already received accolades. Sunny Days with You was runner up in the international Song of the Year contest. ... more

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