The Ballad of Rory Jack Newman (Rory Jack Thompson)

Rory Jack Thompson (Rory Jack Newman) was a man rightly or wrongly imprisoned in the Tasmanian penal system. For more information please consult, https://westhobart.wordpress.com/rorys-story/.

Goodbye Rory Jack

you know you're never coming back

even though you changed your name

it seems you're covered in blood all the same.

Goodbye Rory Jack

you nearly made it back

but they caught you on the plane

and said it don't matter

that you changed your name.

Goodbye Rory Jack

they had to lock you up cause she was black

but they didn't understand

the breathlessness she had at your hand.

Goodbye Rory Jack

It was a fun game you liked to play

and you played it rough that way

but when she died on that day

there was no way to explain it away.

Goodbye Rory Jack

you know you're never coming back

you played your trump hand

and they kept you in the can

to keep their names on the honor roll.

Goodbye Rory Jack

you know you're never coming back

to the place you loved the best

which is now the place that you detest.

Goodbye Rory Jack

they kept you on rogues row

but the noose that once hung loose

had been tied through the bars.

So, goodbye Rory Jack

you're proof for later use

and if there's a bit of truth

then it's bound to raise the roof

and perhaps we'll see the color

of the sky.