Dead Man Walking

Dead Man Walking
by John McCutcheon
© 1994 Appalsongs (ASCAP)

Warden comes in with his hands all a-sweatin’
But there’s steel in his eyes and a beer on his breath
Priest stands by with his prayer book open
Preaching ‘bout forgiveness in the language of death
You get one last meal, one last cigarette
One last phone call if there’s someone who’ll talk
Any last words and you better think quick
Because eternity’s a-waiting at the end of the walk
Quiet on the tier
There’s a dead man walking
I said, “Quiet on the tier
There’s a dead man a-walking!”

I don’t want no favors, I don’t want your pity
Ain’t got no right to ask for forgiveness at all
“Vengeance is mine!” said the Lord in the Bible
I bet he don’t know a thing about that room down the hall
Twelve good men and woman, all calm and collected,
Said your sorry-ass soul’s got to burn for your crime
Well it’s an easier road to revenge than to mercy
But an eye for an eye makes the whole world blind
Quiet on the tier
There’s a dead man walking
I said, “Quiet on the tier
There’s a dead man a-walking!”
One hand on the trigger, the other on the switch
If one of ‘em is innocent I can’t say which

You know, last night I dreamed that I seen my Mother
She was standing in the kitchen staring out at the yard
She had her hands on her hips and her eyes on the garden
Like it’d sprout me a pardon if she prayed real hard
It was a July morning, church bells a-ringing
Hard oak pew and my Sunday best
Now I’m sitting here waiting on the angel band
In my last suit of clothes with a strap across my chest
Quiet on the tier
There’s a dead man walking
Quiet on the tier
There’s a dead man a-walking!
From their very first steps to the last of their lives
We’ll pay more to kill him than to see he survives
Quiet on the tier
There’s a dead man walking
Quiet on the tier
There’s a dead man a-walking!

This song appears on Tom Chapin's Doing Our Job CD.

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