[Verse 1]
Ah, it ain't so easy, is it? You almost lost your place
And perhaps you're wondering how you're going to cope with your disgrace
Well, your wealth is well established, and your friends were never few
And all the things they told you of you're finding to be true

[Refrain]
Well, if truth can free the guilty while the innocent must die
Then, I respect, respect, respect the coldest lie

[Verse 2]
And you talk of human justice while you drive on fancy wheels
And you push them to their limit just to see how nice it feels
Well, it doesn't really matter if she's living or she's dead
You just drive away forgetting that your bumper's dipped in red

[Refrain]
But, if that's the kind of justice that our hall of justice claims
Then I respect, respect, respect old Jesse James

[Verse 3]
And most cordially they caught, you, and they asked you to obey
And they threw you in prison just in case you could not pay
Well, King Arthur jousted Lancelot, who stole away his wife
And your lawyers jousted with the court to save your precious life
[Refrain]
Well, if living is what matters though you lie with every breath
Then, I respect, respect, the ones we put to death

[Verse 4]
And you won your case most easily, and soon you will be free
Ah, but there will be a million more who lose their liberty
Not because of what they did, but what they did not do
They did not pay a lawyer or a judge to see them through

[Refrain]
Why, they had no friends to call on, and they could not raise their bail
Well, if the winning is what matters, I respect the ones who fail