Clarence Williams

(chorus)
way down in a Louisiana jail
don’t get no pardon don’t go no bail
life on ice is a mighty long time
for a two bit warrant and petty crime

law and order and the crackdown squad
come cleanin’ up the streets for country and god
so the porno shop and the penny arcade
can feel free to promenade

they’ll take you down if you got no money
they’ll take you down if you look a little funny
they come down suckin’ on a cigarette
caught Clarence Williams with a tv set

(chorus)

they knew Clarence they’d seen him before
they didn’t want to have to see him no more
one minute he was walkin’ on solid ground
next minute he was penitentiary bound

the district attorney and the chief of police
and all the many officers of the peace
say it’s a mighty hard sentence for a hot tv
but that’s what keeps our streets so safe you see

(chorus)

ain’t it funny and ain’t it strange
to see law and order get rearranged
if it Watergate they put you in a big hotel
if it’s a tv they put you in a prison cell

I may be right and I may be wrong
but there’s some people goin’ where they don’t belong
and there’s blood money ridin’ on loaded dice
and somebody’s gonna have to pay the price

(chorus)