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Lyrics

I was ten, long ago, when we lost our dad
What a blow to the whole family
He was laid to rest on a cold December day
Dark times, dark memories

As we got back into the limousine,
To leave the cemetery
The funeral director gave a package to my mom,
And expressed his sympathy

Please accept this, our heartfelt gift,
As you struggle so mightily to cope
May it ever inspire love and joy,
May it ever bring you a lasting hope

May it ever help you down your rocky road,
May it ever keep us in your loop,
It’s our super fine, genuine, McDougall Funeral Home
And Mortuary Ice Cream Scoop

I kid you not, that’s what we got, from the funeral home.
A steel blade on a handle of wood
With a shiny plaque etched with their name and address,
And a slogan to promote their good:

‘Service measured not by gold,
but by the golden rule’
Now I ask what more could a grieving family want,
Than a morbid promo ice cream tool?

Please accept this, our heartfelt gift,
As you struggle so mightily to cope
May it ever inspire love and joy,
May it ever bring you a lasting hope

May it ever help you down your rocky road,
May it ever keep us in your loop,
It’s our super fine, genuine, McDougall Funeral Home
And Mortuary Ice Cream Scoop

Through the years, that old scoop, it got lots of use,
Holidays, summer nights, and parties
Now retired to a special resting place on the shelf,
With relics from our family history.

As I gaze into that old faded steel blade,
I reflect on the good times we had
And now I realize, looking back at me are
Reflections of my mom and of my dad.

Please accept this, our heartfelt gift,
As you struggle so mightily to cope
May it ever inspire love and joy,
May it ever bring you a lasting hope

May it ever help you down your rocky road,
May it ever keep us in your loop,
It’s our super fine, genuine, McDougall Funeral Home
And Mortuary Ice Cream Scoop

It’s our super fine, genuine, McDougall Funeral Home
And Mortuary Ice Cream Scoop

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Track Notes
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"The Scoop" is based on the real-life (and death) experience of us losing our dad in a plane crash. I originally wrote this song to be on the humorous side, because as I got much older and saw that scoop was still in use, it struck me as a really strange gift to get from a funeral home. But, as I got to writing the song, my feelings about that gift changed. And the song turned out to be more than merely a humorous jab at the strange juxta-positioning of an ice cream scoop with a funeral home.

My siblings later informed me that we got the scoop later in the month, as a Christmas gift from the funeral home. Oh well, that doesn't change the heart of the song.

The funeral home is still in business. They built a new building next to the old one that is still there.

Lyrics: Brad Critchfield
Music: AI - SUNO