Bars and Stripes

We are the land of the stars and the stripes
So why, when I close my eyes, can I
see only bars and stripes?
And the letters to my ma being
stuffed in the can by a whistling
guard the moment the supervisor passes by
as though he'd mind

He was whistling the star-spangled banner
Something about the irony makes me want to laugh
or cry

I wouldn't have admitted that before
Stigmas being what they are
prison does things to a man
Life does things to a man
And without my ma
And Lizzie and the girls
and the boy, now
I don't know if I'll make it out alive

When I get out
when, not if, when, not if
I'll tell my side of the story
The side I told them in the letters
the letters they never returned
The letters they never received
And they'll believe me
they have to believe me

I had a military trial
an unfair trial
A group of higher-ups trying to cover themselves and so the blame fell on
me
blame the minority

The declaration of independence promised me more
"we hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal"
Well Mr. Jefferson, here's your sequel

Wise words, these "equal rights"
written by a white man, a slaveholder,
a bright man
Here there's not much to do
we can never see the stars
It was either read the declaration or stare all day at the bars

ladies and gentlemen of the court, why would a man of the stars and stripes turn his back on his country for the bars and stripes?