Every freak on the street
Every geek in the room
knows the daily paranoia
like a mutant hothouse flower
living life under a glass
the only one in your class
If you're smarter than your classmates
If you're stranger than your peers
you will be pushed away
Because being odd is a crime
you will be convicted
you will be evicted
you shall not be free
We must free
the West Memphis Three
a knife
a lie
and stupidity
are the ingredients of a conviction
ignorance
fear
and vengeance
are the ingredients of a death penalty
Destined to die
Damien denies the lies
Jesse and Jason face only their lives
locked away
We must free
the West Memphis Three
murder charges are meaningless
when three boys are convicted only
of being different
in a world that needs things the same
in a world that feeds the insane
and starves the good the decent and the fair
that kicks the just and the compassionate
in the teeth
in the head
in the eye
yes, it's a kick in the eye
to realize
that what got my ass kicked in high school
got three boys convicted of murder
"they got weird hair"
"they wear black t-shirts"
"they listen to that devil music"
We must free
the West Memphis Three
I've been told that justice is blind
but I think instead she's lazy
She won't rise from her bed of nails
She won't rise to the occasion
She doesn't care that these three
were condemned not for any murder
but for the high crime of being different
She ignores the evidence
She is deaf to the pleas
and her blindfold is stapled in place
and so it's up to me
and you - it's up to we
to sing for Damien
to shout for Jason
to dance for Jesse
it's up to we
We must free
the West Memphis Three
We must free
the West Memphis Three
(c) David McIntire
a link for the West Memphis Three: