Adios Hermanos

It was the morning of October 6th, 1960
I was wearing my brown suit
Preparing to leave the house of D.
Shook some hands then adios Brooklyn amigos
Maybe some of them had hopes of seeing me again
Some even said that my judge -Judge Gerald Culkin -
Wouldn’t play it by the book
Maybe let us off the hook
But, woah-ooh-woah, I knew better.
Afraid to leave the projects
To cross into another neighbourhood
The blancos and the nigger gangs
Well, they’d kill you if they could.
Angel of mercy, people are suffering all over the world
Spanish children are taught on their knees to believe
Angel of mercy, people are suffering all over the island tonight,
Mothers weep
Sisters grieve.
Well, I entered the courtroom, state of New York, county of New York
Just some spic they scrubbed off the sidewalk
Guilty by my dress
Guilty in the press
Let the capeman burn for the murders
Well the ’spanish boys’ had their day in court
And now it was time for some fuckin’ law and order
The electric chair
For the greasy pair
Said the judge to the court reporter
Afraid to leave the projects
To cross into another neighbourhood
The newspapers and the T.V. crews
Well, they’d kill you if they could
Angel of mercy, people are suffering all over the world
A spanish boy could be killed every night of the week
But just let some white boy die
And the world goes crazy for blood - latin blood.
I don’t lie when I speak.
Well they shackled my hands
A heavy belt around my waist to restrain me
And they shackled my legs
Hernandez, the ’umbrella man’ chained beside me
Then we rode that black maria
Through the streets of spanish Harlem
Calling old friends on the corners
Just to lay our prayers upon them
Crying "Adios hermanos, adios"
"Adios hermanos, adios"