In regards to the meaning of this song:
Before a live performance on the EP Five Stories Falling, Geoff states “It’s about the last time I went to visit my grandmother in Columbus, and I saw that she was dying and it was the last time I was going to see her. It is about realizing how young you are, but how quickly you can go.”
That’s the thing about Geoff and his sublime poetry, you think it’s about one thing, but really it’s about something entirely different. But the lyrics are still universal and omnipresent, ubiquitous, even. So relatable. That’s one thing I love about this band. I also love their live performances, raw energy and Geoff’s beautiful, imperfectly perfect vocals. His voice soothes my aching soul.
I stood before the judge that day
As he refused me bail
And I knew that I would spend my time
Awaiting trial in jail
I said there is no justice
As they led me out of the door
And the judge said, "this isn't a court of justice, son
This is a court of law."
They first sent me to Windsor
And then to stoke on Trent
In a holding cell in Liverpool
Three days and nights I spent
My solicitor can't find me
And my family don't know
I keep telling them that I'm innocent
They just say, "come on son, in you go."
I was picked up on suspicion of something I haven't done
Here I sit in 'f' wing waiting for my trial to come
It's a cruel unusual punishment that society demands
Innocent till proven guilty, rotting on remand
I ended up in this jail
Built in 1882
When one man to one prison cell
Was a Victorian value
Now three of us are squeezed in here
And you can't escape the smell
Of that bucket in the corner
And we eat in here as well
They let me out of this cage
To slop that bucket out
To get my food and bring it back
And if I'm lucky, get a shower
Apart from one hour's exercise
I'm locked in here all day
You don't turn criminals into citizens
By treating them this way
Is the price of law and order the stench of wormwood scrubs
With judges quick to sentence more down from above
It's a cruel unusual punishment that society demands
Innocent till proven guilty, rotting on remand
As he refused me bail
And I knew that I would spend my time
Awaiting trial in jail
I said there is no justice
As they led me out of the door
And the judge said, "this isn't a court of justice, son
This is a court of law."
They first sent me to Windsor
And then to stoke on Trent
In a holding cell in Liverpool
Three days and nights I spent
My solicitor can't find me
And my family don't know
I keep telling them that I'm innocent
They just say, "come on son, in you go."
I was picked up on suspicion of something I haven't done
Here I sit in 'f' wing waiting for my trial to come
It's a cruel unusual punishment that society demands
Innocent till proven guilty, rotting on remand
I ended up in this jail
Built in 1882
When one man to one prison cell
Was a Victorian value
Now three of us are squeezed in here
And you can't escape the smell
Of that bucket in the corner
And we eat in here as well
They let me out of this cage
To slop that bucket out
To get my food and bring it back
And if I'm lucky, get a shower
Apart from one hour's exercise
I'm locked in here all day
You don't turn criminals into citizens
By treating them this way
Is the price of law and order the stench of wormwood scrubs
With judges quick to sentence more down from above
It's a cruel unusual punishment that society demands
Innocent till proven guilty, rotting on remand
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This is one of my favorite songs. https://fnfgo.io
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Great song, one of my fav. lines is "this isn't a court of justice song, this is a court of law."
I agree with the sentiment of the song also, it reflects the new "Law and order" route that society has been going down since the 1980s.