Oi Polloi – 23 Hours lyrics

Arrested - beaten black and blue
Confession - beaten out of you
You didn't do it - but you still get the cell
In prison - institiutionalised hell

23 houres - banged up day and night
Beatings - given out left and right
By the screws who want to put you down
Degradation - they rub your face in the ground

How many are imprisoned for a crime they didn't do
Don't think for one minute that it couldn't be me or you
So if you feel you're tempted to just ignore this song
Put yourself in their place and write to right the wrong

How many thousands of people all around the globe are imprisoned for crimes they never commited? How many more for their political beliefs? Or simply because they have fallen foul of vicious, opressive legal systems that serve only to protect the wealthy and powerful elite? What is perhaps the cruellest blow of all to these people is when those of us on the outside simply sit back and allow them to rot in the cells. Organisations like Amnesty International and The Anarchist Black Cross have shown that, by using our collective strength, we can get out many of these people. There is no excuse for inaction. At the time of recording, Martin Foran is on hungerstrike and John Perotti is on fast to death - How many more lives must be screwed up and wasted before we face up to our responsibilities and work to support our sisters and brothers in captivity?