WELL, YOUR HONOR, I DO BELIEVE I'D BE BETTER OFF DEAD

Well, they closed down the auto plant in Mahwah late last month
Ralph went out lookin' for a job, but he couldn't find none
He came home too drunk from mixin' Tanqueray and wine
He got a gun, shot a night clerk, now they call him Johnny 99

Down in the part of town where when you hit a red light, you don't stop
Johnny's wavin' his gun around and threatenin' to blow his top
When an off-duty cop snuck up on him from behind
Out in front of the Club TipTop, they slapped the cuffs on Johnny 99

Well, the city supplied a public defender, but the judge was Mean John Brown
He came into the courtroom and stared poor Johnny down
"Well, the evidence is clear, gonna let the sentence, son, fit the crime
Prison for ninety-eight and a year and we'll call it even, Johnny 99"

A fistfight broke out in the courtroom, they had to drag Johnny's girl away
His mama stood up and shouted, "Judge, don't take my boy this way"
"Well, son, you got any statement you'd like to make
Before the bailiff comes to forever take you away?"

"Now, judge, judge, I got debts no honest man could pay
The bank was holdin' my mortgage and takin' my house away
Now I ain't sayin' that made me an innocent man
But it was more than all this that put that gun in my hand
Well, your honor, I do believe I'd be better off dead
And if you can take a man's life for the thoughts that's in his head
Then won't you sit back in that chair and think it over, judge, one more time?
And let 'em shave off my hair and put me on that execution line"

"Well, the evidence is clear, gonna let the sentence, son, fit the crime
Prison for ninety-eight and a year and we'll call it even, Johnny 99"

Bruce Springsteen 

NOW'S THERE'S TEARS ON THE PILLOW, WHERE WE SLEPT

 There is a blood red circle on the cold dark ground
And the rain is falling down
The church door's thrown open, I can hear the organ's song
But the congregation's gone

My city of ruins
My city of ruins

Now the sweet bells of mercy drift through the evening trees
Young men on the corner like scattered leaves
The boarded-up windows, the empty streets
While my brother's down on his knees

My city of ruins
My city of ruins

Come on, rise up!
Come on, rise up!
Come on, rise up!
Come on, rise up!
Come on, rise up!
Come on, rise up!

Now's there's tears on the pillow, darling, where we slept
And you took my heart when you left
Without your sweet kiss, my soul is lost, my friend
Tell me how do I begin again?

My city's in ruins
My city's in ruins

Now with these hands
With these hands
With these hands
With these hands
I pray Lord
With these hands, with these hands
I pray for the strength, Lord
With these hands, with these hands
Yeah, I pray for the faith, Lord
With these hands, with these hands
We pray for your love, Lord
With these hands, with these hands
I pray for the strength, Lord
With these hands, with these hands
I pray for Your love, Lord
With these hands, with these hands
We pray for the faith, Lord
With these hands (Alright), with these hands
We pray for the strength, Lord
With these hands (Come on), with these hands (Come on)

Come on, rise up!
Come on, rise up!
Come on, rise up!
Come on, rise up!

Come on, rise up!
Come on, rise up!
Come on, rise up!
Come on, rise up!

Come on, rise up!
Come on, rise up!

Now's there's tears on the pillow, darling, where we slept
And you took my heart when you left
Without your sweet kiss, my soul is lost, my friend
Tell me how do I begin again?

Bruce Springsteen