A Humble Response in Honor of Tom Bates and the Public Commons for Everyone Initiative
by Carol Denney
Thursday, November 29, 2007

I was a junkie I lived on the street
I had no money and nothing to eat
A kindly policeman came by one fine day
And changed my perspective on living that way

Chorus:
In jail! In jail!
Don't bother paying my bail!
Give me a blanket and three squares a day
Life is much better in jail!

I had no direction when I was a kid
I loved to be free didn't care what I did
My civil rights were just weighing me down
But now getting busted has turned me around
(Chorus)

My civil liberties I have to say
Just clouded my judgment and got in my way
Pull up your bootstraps and reach for the stars
Life is much better by far behind bars
(chorus)

I was a treesitter up in the grove
They told me to leave but I just wouldn't move
I had no respect for the cops til I saw
They could take me to jail for no reason at all
(Chorus)