Paying My Debts

Well, I was cast out of Sacto
And driven out east
In my darkest hour, turned to crime
I was sentanced to jail
Where I was beaten and starved
I was murdered time after time after time
Treat a man like a dog
And that’s what he’ll become
He’ll grovel today
But soon his time will come
A man can be pushed
Made to endure all pain
But one day, like a noose
He’ll reach his breaking strain
An act of defense
Or defiance or rage
I savagely beat my cellmate
So they shackled my legs
And through me in a gang
To clear an old graveyard
And work off my hate
I felt like beast
Running hurt, blind, and bleeding
Knowing somewhere a cliff is ahead
The bossman would watch
From the shade of a tree
And drive me till I was near dead
The boss licked his chops
And said, «Son, learn your place»
«Or I’ll throw your bones down in the hole.»
Like a pot boiling over
And snuffing out its fire
My rage burned as black as a coal
I’m no bossman’s dog
My back won’t stoop far
My home’s not in heaven
I don’t run from war
They say a man can be pushed
But when there’s nothing left at stake
Sooner or later, he’ll break
My eyes filled with blood
So I picked up a bone
And I cleaved his fat head clean in two
He fell into the dust
As I spat on his face
«Brother, the same goes for you.»