He’s always at odds with the law,

yet claims he is merely a victim

of crass regulations restrictin’

the freedom he’s got:

the smoking of pot,

the driving of vehicles (licensed or not);

the spraying of signs, the parking on lines,

the after-hours ‘heaving,’ the blatant receiving,

(and subsequent selling)

                  the plebeian roar;

He’s always at odds with the law. 

[Photograph copyright Dave Thomas]

He’s always at odds with the law,

though his stature is hardly imposin’

(he’s never seen twice, the same clothes in).

From skinhead to punk, from mod to romantic;

from half Hari-Krishna, to full transatlantic

prohibition sharp shooter, then futurist rooter,

action man fighter, to CND righter

(leading a demo, illegal for sure);

He’s always at odds with the law.
 

He’s always at odds with the law.

The new recruits use him for trainin’.

He’s given up now, who can blame him?

Whenever a window at midnight gets broken,

guilty or not, he turns up, as a token

gesture;

it’s meant

to discreetly prevent

some bull-face detective, well versed in invective,

from waking his Ma, at a quarter-to-four.

He’s always at odds with the law.

[Copyright Dave Cartwright]