The Hostage

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I'm a guard in the grey iron 
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prison, at least I was 'till now
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It was never a picnic social, 
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never a day
They never come in laughing and you 
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know they never taught them how
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It was damn hard work, and you 
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wouldn't believe the pay


[Verse 2]
It was early in the morning, lord, I
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 wasn't but half awake
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When the cons went nuts, and took 
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us by surprise
I never was one for shaking, but I 
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found it hard to stand
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With a six-inch blade held right 
            Dm
before my eyes


[Verse 3]
We could hear a siren blowing, 
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somebody yelled in pain
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Then it got so quiet, you could 
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hear a bird walk by
They all had masks on their faces, 
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and they spoke with a voice of Cain
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"If they come in shooting, then you
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 know you're bound to die"


[Verse 4]
Continúa después del anuncio
I turned to a buddy named Willie, I 
      G                    Dm
said "Willie, it'll be all right
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If they meant to kill us we'd be 
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half way down to Hell

See, they high-jacked a plane in the
 desert
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And the government screamed and 
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cried
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But to save some lives, they 
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opened up a prison cell"


[Verse 5]
So the days kept coming and going, 
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tension was getting high
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But I wasn't too worried, I 
             Dm
figured I knew the score
I knew they were talking to someone,
   G                         Dm
 I knew they were willing to try
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So I figured my freedom was a 
                   Dm
matter of a day or two more


[Verse 6]
But, Jesus, early this morning, the 
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whirlybird dropped the gas
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It made me puke and it brought me 
      Dm
to my knees
The bullets came like hailstones, I 
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heard the first ones pass
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Then they cut down Willie, and they
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 got Jim Kelly and me


[Verse 7]
They come in yelling curses, like 
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they were crossing the River Rhine
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Shot down every goddamned thing 
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they saw
And while I lay there wounded, I 
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took another one in my spine
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Poor Jim Kelly took another one 
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in his jaw


[Verse 8]
They say we had our throats cut by a
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 band of desperate men
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Say they saved as many of us as 
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they could
Well, the governor he should know 
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it, but I think I'll say it again
         G               Bb       
That the governor cut my throat 
            Dm
and he cut it good


[Verse 9]
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Let them take the governor, hold 
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him for a couple of days
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See who goes in shooting to set 
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him free
Hell, they'd open every jail in the 
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country, they'd send them on their 
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way
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They'd never do to him what the 
                   Dm
governor done to me