interlocking wings and things

A butterfly might flap its wings
Getting ready for to fly
The breeze it blows just grows and grows
Till it brings a storm in mid july

18 years ago today
They put a man in prison
He said he didn't do it
But nobody would listen

There was just one witness
to the crime
She was on crack
getting ready to do time

She told the policeman
Everything he wanted to know
He had a little cold
and wanted early home

That crack whore made him feel
Ever so much warmer
He felt the same way about
All the girl informers

She got a lighter sentence
For helping out the law
And all she had to do
Was exercise her jaw

She was out in 6 months
To get more crack
They found her dead in the snow
Flat on her back

For 18 years our friend's been away
His kids used to ask
When daddy could play

They grew up alone
they don't ask anymore
His son is a junkie
His daughter's a whore

If that butterfly's wings
Had flapped in a different direction
Maybe Bush
would have lost the election

Maybe the guys who count the votes
Would have had a healthier
Serving of their oats

Maybe thousands wouldn't
have had to die
Because of that little butterfly

He asked and he asked
If they could check the DNA
But he had to wait for a charity
'cuz the government wouldn't pay

It only cost 250
but the budget's really tight
The citizens only want to pay
For things they think are right

So for 18 years he sat there
In prison locked away
When he was finally freed
The newspapers asked the policeman
What he had to say

He sat back in his chair
gave a little laugh
Said 'that's the way the law is
It's only ever right by half'

He said of the 750 people
His staff had put away
Only maybe 1 or two
Were investigated the right way

Maybe he'll get some compensation
For the life he didn't get
Don't know how he'll get a job
He's never had one yet

There's talk 2million dollars
Are waiting for those
Who spent a life in jail
Cuz an addict took off her clothes

Multiplied by 750
That's a pretty hefty sum
The citizens won't like it
The checks'll probably never come

So the cycle will continue
As the centuries flit by
Like the tiny wings
Of a butterfly