My first day in prison I was wondering what to do
Praying that all the things I'd heard weren't really true
The guard told me for my own good I sure better cut my hair
He laughed and said, it's your ass boy, myself I don't care
They gave us prison clothes and took us from the street
When the convicts started whistling It felt like a piece of meat in a livestock
show And the world outside don't want to know
Well, good time Slim, he walked right over and pulled up his seat
Squeezed my knee till I wanted to cry and said, hello new meat
My friends had all told me when a con comes on strong
Get him talking about wise end, there's no con never done wrong
I'm feeling like a cornered rat, looking to make my escape
I said, Slim, what are you in for?
He laughed and said, a rape And I thought, oh no
But the world outside don't want to know
Well, in jail if you want to stay out of trouble You've only got two choices
You can be a Bible thumper or the crazy who hears voices
Crazy is a good role if they don't spot your game
And even the cons lay off the ones that preach in God's name
I let on I was crazy, everyone left me alone
But I never knew till later that my heart had turned to stone
Like a lava flow
And the world outside don't want to know
The cons were playing cards when the new kid came that day
A winning hand gets him first tonight was what I heard them say
In jail you have no ears or eyes if you want to stay alive
And it's easy to forget about fair when you're trying to survive
I heard the kid scream at night as he beat him to his knees
I wanted to go and help him but all I did was squeeze my head in the pillow
And the world outside don't want to know
Little Black Jack was playing fair, Moose hit him from behind
Jack told Moose, play ball man, you're getting beat cause you ain't trying
Well, Moose fouled Jack once again, Jack took him to the floor
And he did not let him up until Moose cried no more
Next day in the dining hall there was a muffled sound
As the line moved forward, little Jack lay bleeding on the ground
Like a crumpled crumb
And the world outside don't want to know
Early one morning the captain came, he had some news for me
Parole board had decided they were gonna set me free
Outside I could find no work, forget my college degree
New York's a county city, nothing we can do you see
Just about to hang it up when I got to singing in the streets
Music saved my life and now I'm in adversity with my past in tow
And the world outside don't want to know
Well, I recall the vow I made as I walked through the prison gate
To fight for reform, to fight the prison state
But I've not changed a single jail though I swore that I would
I don't go near them and I know that I should
And the only reason I'd kill someone is to keep from going back
You can think what you want of me
But you didn't see little Jack die so slow
And the truth is none of us want to know
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