Paul Crump [Demo-Version]

Lyrics

[Intro] Here's a song in A minor up five It's called "Paul Crump", it tells the story of, um Of a man who killed another man in Chicago in 1953 And while he was sitting in jail He begun appealing his sentence, and, um, winning And, um, began educating himself Wrote a novel called Burn, Killer, Burn And, uh, just last year his sentence Uh, was commuted by the governor of Illinois Now he's still sitting, he's still in jail there now, and, um His case will be used in a lot of arguments about rehabilitation versus capital punishment [Verse 1] In the statе of Illinois 'bout nine years ago A cold blooded killеr, he went against the law He killed a factory guard when his robbery did fail And they caught him and they threw him into jail [Verse 2] He lay there in his cell locked up with his hate Not many men knew of him and less cared for his fate And he knew no peace of mind when his trial did come by The judge said, "You are guilty, you must die" [Chorus] But Paul Crump is alive today He's a-sittin' in a cell, he's got somethin' to say Every human's got something to give And if a man can change, then a man should live [Verse 3] They sent him to Cook County Jail, a jail known far and wide Where pity was a stranger and brave men often cry He led a prison riot in the year of '55 And he didn't even care if he survived [Verse 4] But the jail had in a warden, Jack Johnson was his name To cure instead of punish, it was his chosen aim The riot soon was ended, the convicts feared in vain The warden gave them hope instead of pain [Chorus] But Paul Crump is alive today He's a-sittin' in a cell, he's got somethin' to say Every human's got something to give And if a man can change, then a man should live [Verse 5] Between the warden and the convict, a friendship slowly grew One learned from the other that a man can live anew Then the warden told the convict, "You must leave the devil's plan The time has come for you to be a man" [Verse 6] Then the convict found religion and he started him to learn He wrote himself a novel called Burn, Killer, Burn And as his dying day grew near, to the warden he did cry "You must pull the switch and I must die" [Chorus] But Paul Crump is alive today He's a-sittin' in a cell, he's got somethin' to say Every human's got something to give And if a man can change, then a man should live [Verse 7] It was up to Governor Kerner to keep him from the grave Was rehabilitation a reason to be saved? The people were protesting, the word was spread around A new and better answer must be found [Verse 8] Well, the electric chair was cheated, the convict didn't pay A new concept of justice was born and raised that day Now throughout this peaceful land, there are others set to die What better time than now to question why? [Chorus] 'Cause Paul Crump is alive today He's a-sittin' in a cell, he's got somethin' to say Every human's got something to give And if a man can change, then a man should live