It crawls on his back, won't ever let him be Stares at the walls until the cinder blocks can breathe His eyes have gone away, escaping over time He rules a crowded nation inside his mind
He knows that night like his hand He knows every move he made Late shift, the bell that rang, a time card won't fade 10:05 his truck pulled home 10:05 he climbed his stair, about the time he was accused of being there
But I'm not the man He goes free as I wait on the row for the man to test the rope he'll slip around my throat and silence me
On the day he was tried no witness testified Nothing but evidence, not hard to falsify His own confession was a prosecutor's prize, made up of fear, of rage and of outright lies
But I'm not the man He goes free as the candle vigil glows, as they burn my clothes As the crowd cries, "Hang him slow!" and I feel my blood go cold, he goes free
Call out the KKK, they're wild after me And with that frenzied look of half-demented zeal, they'd love to serve me up my final meal
Who'll read my final rite and hear my last appeal? Who struck this devil's deal?