Ladies and gentlemen of the jury
I come before you to plead for the life of Leon McDuff
Ladies and gentlemen of the jury
I'’m asking you to be the judge of when enough is enough
now Leon McDuff has worked on his daddy'’s farm
every day since the day that he was born
plowing in the field & hoeing in the garden
and helping to pick the cotton and the corn
then came the time of the Mississippi flood
when all of his work went down the drain
his land was parched by sun, blown by the wind
and finally washed away by the rain
so Leon went to his friends trying to get help from them
but their crops and their money all were gone
so Leon when to the bank trying to mortgage his home
but the bank wouldn’t give Leon a loan
He could not decide how his family would survive
with no crops and no money to buy food
as he struggled with his hands trying to rework his land
the notice came and said your land tax is due
Ladies and gentlemen of the jury
I come before you to plead for the life of Leon McDuff
Ladies and gentlemen of the jury
I''m asking you to be the judge of when enough is enough
in an air-conditioned office on the other side side of town
there sat a government official with a frown
seems he'd been trying all week long to find land to build a summer home
but cheap river land could not be found
and in the middle of his gloom the boss walked in the room
he said I got some real good news for the house you planned
see there’s a farmer who's so poor and who's luck has gone so sour
he'll never pay the taxes on his land
so you just wait a week or two, till the money's overdue
then go to the cashier down the hall,
hold this deed in your hand and pay the taxes on his land
and have the sheriff give Leon McDuff a call.
And you can tell Leon to move by the last day of July
cause the taxes on his land are overdue
tell him he's gotta move away
cause his taxes were not paid
and then all that river land belongs to you
in that same air conditioned office in about a week or two
here comes the sheriff saying I got bad news
that old Leon McDuff knows he’s had bad luck
he says he'll try to get the money but he won't move
Well that bureaucrat jumped up and he grabbed the sheriff by the arm
and says we're going out to take his land today
so he and the sheriff drove on out to Leon’s farm
to tell the McDuffs to move away
and there stood Leon on his land with a shotgun in his hand
and his eyes, they were narrowed beneath the brim of his hat
He said I worked hard on this land as a boy and as a man
and I won't lose it now to some damn bureaucrat
well that bureaucrat got mad and grabbed the gun in Leon’s hand
in the struggle an explosion cracked the air
when the smoke and dust had cleared and the ringing left their ears
the sheriff he lay dying on the ground
the sheriff he lay dying on the ground
now on this table I will lay this here gun, exhibit A
And there's two sets of fingerprints that you can't even see
other hands were here, none perceived by eye nor ear
to help trigger off this morbid tragedy.
And now to me it's still unclear what really caused the problem here
there's just too much you got to know before you know enough
and though we can't find out today just where all the guilt should lay
It shouldn't lay on Leon McDuff
Ladies and gentlemen of the jury
I come before you to plead for the life of Leon McDuff
Ladies and gentlemen of the jury
I''m asking you to be the judge of when enough is enough
Established March 17, 1997
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