peter case, “all dressed up for trial”
from: Hw 62, 2016
I ventured out to see the great Peter Case not that long ago and was richly rewarded, especially when he did this song live on 12 string guitar! It was as if the entire Who band from the 60’s had stepped on stage, and he was able singularly, to equal the full powers of their sound! With all the trials swirling around us, it is good to have his incisive anatomical portrait of the curious wheels of justice spinning cosmically onward.
“Put on my cousin’s suit and old blue tie
Shine my shoes and said goodbye
Today at noon I’ll know the tale
Will I go free or back to jail
Well I’m all dressed up
I’m all dressed up for trial
Never hurt nobody else
No one knows the way I felt
Now in the care of the public d
fender says I should cop a plea
And I’m all dressed up
I’m all dressed up for trial
The PFO was wait around
They all assume I’m jailhouse bound
I’ll tell the truth if that won’t help
I’m terrified to be myself
They listen in to smoke me out
The court says there’s no room for doubt
A witness lied, the jury coughed
The judge got scared she’d look too soft
And I’m all dressed up
I’m all dressed up for trial
My lawyer says there’s a railroad down
to prison from my side of town
They saw my face and read my skin
The colors say I’m goin in
The wheels and gears of justice grind
But justice still gets left behind
So when you see me on the street
Your heart don’t have to skip a beat
Cause I’m all dressed up for trial
A higher court will now decide who gets judged for real this time
And I’m all dressed up,
I’m all dressed up for trial
”
