Respectable Songtext
von Don McLean

Ah, it ain′t so easy is it? You almost lost your place
And perhaps you're wondering how
you′re going to cope with your disgrace
Well your wealth is well established and your friends were never few
And all the things they told you of you're finding to be true
Well if truth can free the guilty while the innocent must die
Then I respect, respect, respect the coldest lie


And you talk of human justice while you drive on fancy wheels
And you push them to their limit just to see how nice it feels
Well it doesn't really matter if she′s living or she′s dead
You just drive away forgetting that your bumper's dipped in red
Well if that′s the kind of justice that our hall of justice claims
Then I respect, respect, respect old Jesse James

And most cordially they caught you and they asked you to obey
And they threw you into prison, just in case you could not pay
Well King Arthur jousted Lancelot, who stole away his wife
And your lawyers jousted with the court to save your precious life
Well if living is what matters though you lie with every breath
Then I respect, respect, the ones we put to death


And you won your case most easily and soon you will be free
But there will be a million more who lose their liberty
Not because of what they did, but what they did not do
They did not pay a lawyer or a judge to see them through
Why, they had no friends to call on
and they could not raise their bail
Well if winning is what matters, I respect the ones who fail