I'm Not The Man lyrics

Song information

Artist: 10000 Maniacs
Album: Our Time In Eden

Lyrics

[ merchant ]

[ bassoons: kim laskowski & atsuko sato ]

It crawls on his back, won't ever let him be
Stares at the walls until the cinder blocks can breathe
His eyes have gone away, escaping over time
He rules a crowded nation inside his mind

He knows that night like his hand
He knows every move he made
Late shift, the bell that rang, a time card won't fade
10:05 his truck pulled home
10:05 he climbed his stair, about the time he was accused of being there

But I'm not the man
He goes free as I wait on the row for the man to test the rope he'll slip around my throat..
And silence me

On the day he was tried no witnesses testified
Nothing but evidence, not hard to falsify
His own confession was a prosecutor's prize
Made up of fear, of rage and of outright lies

But I'm not the man
He goes free as the candle vigil glows, as they burn my clothes
As the crowd cries, "hang him slow!" and I feel my blood go cold, he goes free

Call out the kkk, they're wild after me
And with that frenzied look of half-demented zeal
They'd love to serve me up my final meal
Who'll read my final rite and hear my last appeal?
Who struck this devil's deal?