|
My name is Donald White, you see, |
|
I stand before you all. |
|
I was judged by you a murderer |
|
And the hangman's knot must fall. |
|
I will die upon the gallows pole |
|
When the moon is shining clear, |
|
And these are my final words |
|
That you will ever hear. |
|
I left my home in Kansas |
|
When I was very young, |
|
I landed in the old Northwest, |
|
Seattle, Washington |
|
Although I'd a-traveled many miles, |
|
I never made a friend, |
|
For I could never get along in life |
|
With people that I met. |
|
If I had some education |
|
To give me a decent start, |
|
I might have been a doctor or |
|
A master in the arts. |
|
But I used my hands for stealing |
|
When I was very young, |
|
And they locked me down in jailhouse cells, |
|
That's how my life begun. |
|
Oh, the inmates and the prisoners, |
|
I found they were my kind, |
|
And it was there inside the bars |
|
I found my peace of mind. |
|
But the jails they were too crowded, |
|
Institutions overflowed, |
|
So they turned me loose to walk upon |
|
Life's hurried tangled road. |
|
And there's danger on the ocean |
|
Where the salt sea waves split high, |
|
And there's danger on the battlefield |
|
Where the shells of bullets fly, |
|
And there's danger in this open world |
|
Where men strive to be free, |
|
And for me the greatest danger |
|
Was in society. |
|
So I asked them to send me back |
|
To the institution home. |
|
But they said they were too crowded, |
|
For me they had no room. |
|
I got down on my knees and begged, |
|
'Oh, please put me away,' |
|
But they would not listen to my plea |
|
Or nothing I would say. |
|
And so it was on Christmas eve |
|
In the year of '59, |
|
It was on that night I killed a man, |
|
I did not try to hide, |
|
The jury found me guilty |
|
And I won't disagree, |
|
For I knew that it would happen |
|
If I wasn't put away. |
|
And I'm glad I've had no parents |
|
To care for me or cry, |
|
For now they will never know |
|
The horrible death I die. |
|
And I'm also glad I've had no friends |
|
To see me in disgrace, |
|
For they'll never see that hangman's hood |
|
Wrap around my face. |
|
Farewell unto the old north woods |
|
Of which I used to roam, |
|
Farewell unto the crowded bars |
|
Of which've been my home, |
|
Farewell to all you people |
|
Who think the worst of me, |
|
I guess you'll feel much better when |
|
I'm on that hanging tree. |
|
But there's just one question |
|
Before they kill me dead, |
|
I'm wondering just how much |
|
To you I really said |
|
Concerning all the boys that come |
|
Down a road like me, |
|
Are they enemies or victims |
|
Of your society? |
