Vigilante Justice
Gather 'round the campfire, young'uns
Let old Billy here, tell ya how the West was won
Once a time ago,
the West was wild ...
Badlands filled with dangerous outlaws
No justice to be found,
lawlessness ruled in ev'ry town,
from sunup to sundown
Whoever had the fastest gun stood above ground
So the good citizens got together
in each town, and chose one man ---
put the power of the law in his hands
But if the sheriff couldn't stop the violence,
then it was up to the good citizens to defend
their own life and property
Vigilante justice was born:
One rope, twelve guns
was the judge and jury
Swift sentence ... execution
Innocent lives fell prey sometimes to prairie fury
Vigilante justice made mistakes from time to time,
but, 'suppose it was better than living in fear of violent crime
Chased all those outlaws into the ground,
and killed a few innocent souls too
who happened to be bystanding 'round
Vigilante justice was blind sometimes,
but most good citizens liked how it worked
Once the West was won,
Uncle Sam came along and snatched the power
away from the people
Said they can't take the law in their own hands:
can't no longer drag people out of their home,
can't no longer burn ev'ry thing they own
Vigilante justice now is scorned,
come call it by another name: mob reform
Now thar's only one law in the land,
and it's Federale
Vigilante justice had to go
Still, I see it rear it's angry head from time to time though ---
but, I ain't telling no blue coat, if you young'uns don't also
Copyright © Freddie Robinson Jr. | Year Posted 2017
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