Joan Baez
Lyric guide

Prison Trilogy (Billy Rose)

Read Prison Trilogy (Billy Rose) lyrics by Joan Baez on LyroVerse, with linked artist context and related song paths.

Joan Baez visibility1 visits
person Curated by Ethan Walker LyroVerse team
Reference snapshot

The page facts to cite before the commentary

Use this page for the lyric text, linked artist context, and any LyroVerse editor's note attached to the song. Listener comments remain user-generated and should not be treated as the primary source.

Page type: lyric reference Artist: Joan Baez Canonical path: /baez-joan/prison-trilogy-billy-rose Related lyric paths: 6
Lyrics

Prison Trilogy (Billy Rose)

The lyric stays readable and compact here; the note and related paths sit nearby so you do not lose the song while looking for context.

Billy Rose Was a Low Rider;

Billy Rose Was a Night Figher

Billy Rose Knew Trouble Like the Sound of His Own Name

Busted On a Drunken Charge

Drivin' Someone Else's Car

The Local Midnight Sheriff's Claim to Fame

In An Arizona Jail There Are Some Who Tell the Tale How

Billy Fought the Sergeant For Some Milk That He Demanded.

Knowing They'd Remain the Boss

Knowing He Would Pay the Cost

They Saw He Was Severely Reprimanded

Nin the Blackest Cell On "A" Block He Hanged Himself At Dawn

With a Note Stuck to the Bunk Head

Don't Mess With Me, Just Take Me Home.

Come and Lay, Help Us Lay Young Billy Down.

Luna Was a Mexican the Law Called An Alien

For Comin' 'cross the Border With a Baby and a Wife

Though the Clothes Upon His Back Were Wet

Still He Thought That He Could Get

Some Money and Things That Make a Life.

It Hadn't Been Too Very Long

When It Seemed Like Everything Went Wrong

They Didn't Even Have the Time to Find Themselves a Home

This Foreigner, a Brown-skin Male

Thrown Into a Texas Jail

It Left the Wife and Baby Quite Alone.

He Eased the Pain Inside Him With a Needle in His Arm

But the Dope Just Crucified Him

He Died to no One's Great Alarm

Come and Lay, Help Us Lay Young Luna Down

And We're Gonna Raze, Raze the Prisons to the Ground.

Kilowatt Was An Aging Con of 65

Who Stood a Chance to Stay Alive

And Leave the Joint and Walk the Streets Again

As the Time He Was to Leave Drew Near

He Suffered All the Joy and Fear

Of Leaving 35 Years in the Pen

And On the Day of His Release

He Was Approached By the Police

Who Took Him to the Warden, Walking Slowly At His Side

The Warden Said "You Won't Remain Here

But Ist Seems a State Retainer

Claims Another 10 Years of Your Life."

He Stepped Out in the Texas Sunlight

The Cops All Stood Around

Old Kilowatt Ran 50 Yards Then Threw Himself Down On the Ground

They Might As Well Just Have Laid the Old Man Down

And We're Gonna Raze, Raze the Prisons to the Ground

Help Us Raze, Raze the Prisons Tho the Ground

Quick answers

What this page can answer fast

Who performs "Prison Trilogy (Billy Rose)"?

Joan Baez performs "Prison Trilogy (Billy Rose)", and this lyric page sits inside the Joan Baez catalog on LyroVerse.

Are there related songs to explore after "Prison Trilogy (Billy Rose)"?

Yes. The related section below points to East Virginia and Esquinazo Del Guerrillero with a short reason for opening each page next.

Where can I find more songs by Joan Baez?

Use the artist link near the top of the page or the related paths section below to keep moving through Joan Baez's lyric pages.

Song Room

Interpretations, questions, and corrections for this song

Interpretations, questions, memories, and correction notes live together here. The room stays noindex while the best insights are reviewed.

Open Song Room
0 followers Selected insights only surface after moderation
Listener comments

What people are saying

0 comments
Add a short interpretation or memory

A strong comment here is specific: the phrase you keep hearing, the mood you come back for, or the reason this song stays in rotation.

Sign in to post the first listener note. Reporting stays open to everyone.

No listener comments on Prison Trilogy (Billy Rose) yet.