Presidential Pardon

from Sweet Optimism by Alun Parry

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    “IF YOU HAD FRIENDS IN HIGH PLACES, YOU’D BE ABOVE THE LAW…”

    Acclaimed storyteller Alun Parry returns
    with a set of broadsides & ballads from the other side of the mirror

    Nobility isn’t a word often associated with songs. Nor is it often written in the same sentence as Woody Guthrie-worshipping socially conscious storytelling songwriters. But Alun Parry’s work contains multitudes and is brimming with noble thoughts and music. The Scouse storyteller has sold albums and filled rooms across the UK for two decades, but his fans have noticed a shift in focus: he plays fewer gigs, records more songs and releases more music than ever before. Why? No matter how hard he tries, he can’t stop writing:

    “This latest set of songs are stories about how we live our lives. Yes, there’s politics, but there’s also personal struggles, humans having histories and meditations on navigating life,” he reveals. “These songs have enabled me to break out of the folk straitjacket and work within other genres to best tell the stories I want to tell.”

    There’s confessional songwriting in the quietly-devastating If I Should Reach The Night Again, funky musings within Friends And Influence and even a finger-pointing anthem to challenge Parry’s seminal My Name Is Dessie Warren in the gallant The Ghosts Of Your Grandfathers. “I hope there’s some optimism in there, too,” he smiles. “No matter what we go through, we need hope. And we’ll always need each other.”

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lyrics

He wasn’t playing baseball

This was a different game

The cops can pick you up

And put three strikes against your name

You’re free to fight for innocence

But understand the threat

At this courthouse casino

It’s a very foolish bet



If you had friends in high places

You’d be above the law

The Presidential Pardon opens up that prison door

Not the black boy from the Projects

But the white guy in the suit

That Presidential Pardon

Must seem a bitter fruit



And every copper knows

That there’s a way to load the dice

So even when they give a bit

You pay a heavy price

You won’t dare choose a trial

Cos there’s just too much to lose

You sign up for the jailhouse

On a deal you can’t refuse



If you had friends in high places

You’d be above the law

The Presidential Pardon opens up that prison door

Not the black boy from the Projects

But the white guy in the suit

That Presidential Pardon

Must seem a bitter fruit



But if you’ve got a pot of gold

And crave for even more

You steal and cheat and swindle

Til you’re noticed by the law

Don’t lose your sleep at night time

When your friends are who they are

The Presidential Pardon

Means you’ll see no prison yard



If you had friends in high places

You’d be above the law

The Presidential Pardon opens up that prison door

Not the black boy from the Projects

But the white guy in the suit

That Presidential Pardon

Must seem a bitter fruit



And now he’s serving time for something else he never did

And he might be out to see some of the childhood of his kid

You can take the seven years

Or there’s thirty on the line

You’re free to go to trial boy

And gamble with your time



If you had friends in high places

You’d be above the law

The Presidential Pardon opens up that prison door

Not the black boy from the Projects

But the white guy in the suit

That Presidential Pardon

Must seem a bitter fruit

credits

from Sweet Optimism, released August 22, 2022

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Alun Parry Liverpool, UK

Known as the UK's Woody Guthrie, Alun Parry's music is uplifting, soul stirring, defiant, and tons of fun!

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