Down the Hall Songtext
von Bonnie Raitt

Had the flu in the prison infirmary
My last day I looked up and saw
A man wheeled round the corner
Down to skin and bones that′s all

I asked the nurse where he was goin'
She said ′hospice down the hall
He prob'ly won't be in there long
Any day we′ll get the call′

I asked if they let family in
She said 'not really at the end
Truth is, a lot don′t have someone
No friends or next of kin'

The thought of those guys goin′ out alone
It hit me somewhere deep
I asked could I go sit with 'em
For some comfort and relief?


Next thing you know, I′m on the ward
Doin' things you can't believe
Like shavin′ Julio′s bony head
Crackin' him up when I wash his feet

I used to run when I saw Tyrone
Knowin′ your place's what it′s all about
Now he's here doubled up in pain
Cancer eatin′ him from the inside out

I sit and wait outside his stall
To help him when he's done
Whatever shame we might have felt
Well, all that's come undone

I can′t undo the wrong I did
Give back the life I took
But maybe when it comes my turn
I′ll get a second look

I don't know ′bout religion
I only know what I see
And in the end when I hold their hand
It's both of us set free