The prison door slammed shut behind me,
I heard him turn the key,
I’ve heard that sound all my life,
I’ve tried to find peace, I’ve tried to find light.
As a kid of ten, I stole a bike,
My life at home had not much to like,
I was out of school with repeated suspensions,
A kid on the street then juvi detention.
At 18 no job or place to live,
Drink and drugs washed my tears, I’d no more to give,
In the wrong crowd, more trouble with the law,
My health in decline then the prison door.
20 years on – my life is no better,
So much money spent to keep me in fetters,
I needed a chance to break the cycle of prison -
Find a job, be proud and escape derision.
So many behind those prison walls, share life’s journey with me,
For they too have lost right out, in life’s lottery!
We are people too, change this situation,
Let’s invest in people - not ‘Incarceration Nation’.
I heard him turn the key,
I’ve heard that sound all my life,
I’ve tried to find peace, I’ve tried to find light.
I knew it then and I know it now —that jailing is failing.
We need to turn things around, turn lives around,
Turn it around, turn lives around – cause jailing is failing.
We need to turn things around, turn lives around,
Turn it around, turn lives around – cause jailing is failing.
As a kid of ten, I stole a bike,
My life at home had not much to like,
I was out of school with repeated suspensions,
A kid on the street then juvi detention.
I knew it then and I know it now —that jailing is failing.
We need to turn things around, turn lives around,
Turn it around, turn lives around – cause jailing is failing.
We need to turn things around, turn lives around,
Turn it around, turn lives around – cause jailing is failing.
At 18 no job or place to live,
Drink and drugs washed my tears, I’d no more to give,
In the wrong crowd, more trouble with the law,
My health in decline then the prison door.
I knew it then and I know it now —that jailing is failing.
We need to turn things around, turn lives around,
Turn it around, turn lives around – cause jailing is failing.
We need to turn things around, turn lives around,
Turn it around, turn lives around – cause jailing is failing.
20 years on – my life is no better,
So much money spent to keep me in fetters,
I needed a chance to break the cycle of prison -
Find a job, be proud and escape derision.
I knew it then and I know it now —that jailing is failing.
We need to turn things around, turn lives around,
Turn it around, turn lives around – cause jailing is failing.
We need to turn things around, turn lives around,
Turn it around, turn lives around – cause jailing is failing.
So many behind those prison walls, share life’s journey with me,
For they too have lost right out, in life’s lottery!
We are people too, change this situation,
Let’s invest in people - not ‘Incarceration Nation’.
I knew it then and I know it now —that jailing is failing.
We need to turn things around, turn lives around,
Turn it around, turn lives around – cause jailing is failing.
We need to turn things around, turn lives around,
Turn it around, turn lives around – cause jailing is failing.
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