Tom Flannery Hanger Number One
I hate Monday and Wednesdaythose where cleaning days
for when the prison got too crowded
from others come to stay
guards would form relay teams
so that they would not tire
and beat the men and boys to death
on the word of someone higher
oh....in hanger number one
I was 19 when I came here
for refusing to go to war
to kill my Shi'ite brothers
living right next door
they said 'so you love your brothers?
we've got your real brother outside
as a gift from Uncle Saddam
you're allowed to watch him die'
oh....in hanger number one
they wanted me to confess
to what I'm still not sure
so they chained me too an iron pipe
sticking out of the floor
and they hung me from an iron hook
that still hangs here today
and after two long days
whatever they'd wish I'd say
oh....in hanger number one
Hanger Number One was my home
for exactly 17 years
my cell was 1 meter long
just enough to hold my tears
but they made sure we got TV
in the fading light
At 8pm Saddam came on
and tucked us in for the night
oh....in hanger number one
The judge who sent me here
I remember that lackey still
I've followed his movements since I've been out
for one day I will kill
it takes more than one man
for evil to take root
in my dreams they litter the road
after I shoot and shoot
oh....in hanger number one
My country is unrecognizable
hatred has a way
of turning green into brown
pulling darkness from day
you say you've come to liberate
I've heard that word before
terror lurks in the hearts of men
forced to tip-toe on their own floor
oh....in hanger number one