Have Mercy on the Criminal Lyrics
Somewhere on the hill
Chasing some poor criminal
And I guess they're out to kill
Oh there must be shackles on his feet
And mother in his eyes
Stumbling through the devil-dark
With the hound pack in full cry
Who is running from the law
Are you blind to the winds of change
Don't you hear him any more
I am never gonna sin again
Just take these chains from around my legs
Sweet Jesus I'll be your friend
While you lie on a cold damp ground
You're taking in the face of a rifle butt
While the wardens hold you down
Oh it turns your heart to stone
You jump the walls and the dogs run free
And the grave's gonna be your home
I don't think this song is really telling the listener to either have mercy or not on the criminal, rather just about how the criminal feels at being hunted, and pretty much knowing he's going to be caught before the night is out. So, if he finds an old house on the moors or something, he would be so desperate and pleading to warrant a song about these feelings (?).
I think that this song is a pleading apology for forgiveness from someone that thinks you have wronged them. I once put it on a mix album for a woman that stopped talking to me after I told her that I loved her.
I think that this song is a pleading apology for forgiveness from someone that thinks you have wronged them. I once put it on a mix album for a woman that stopped talking to me after I told her that I loved her.
I feel that these lyrics are far more meaningful in this decade than before. In the U.S., we have a huge population of prisoners, and many of those are people of color serving exorbitant terms for simple infractions. And it seems we've brought back the old debtors prisons, as well. The U.S. is sliding back into the dark ages one step at a time. So, once again, I do believe Bernie Taupin, genius lyricist, wrote a song that lives beyond the 70s. And Elton brilliantly put it to music (OH what a musician!).