LYRICS


WE'RE ALL UNEQUAL
(written 1990/2023/recorded 2023)

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joseph was a tall black man
tryin’ to feed his family
a housekeeper for the rich
rife with particularity

katie was a reckless girl
flaunting beauty and baseness
she wanted to
give him the slip so
joe was accused of rape, she’d just drop
his sweat on her obscenely expensive
underwear

the other day the judge got up
on the wrong side of the bed
and to make the matters worse
his canteen lunch was just bread
and he was prejudiced to boot
something he displayed with pride
what is worth a rule of law
when weak flesh and blood decide

dreams of equality have been mangled ’n maimed throughout
coining a make-belief that’s what it was all about
everybody just works on everyone in a different way
and at some point in time we’ll all grasp this with dismay
we’re all unequal

mandy was a refugee
from the other side of the world
where seas rise and land will shrink
she’s full of grudge and maladies

arthur was a wealthy man
in an old boys’ network and
from his vast pool
now he could see how
mandy’s shanty rusted out, so he
sued her for this barefaced, brazen
malpractice

shambling arthur’s father was
an old friend of the judge
nepotism’s magic worked
a boozy eve gave the nudge
and some lawyers did their bit
while poor mandy was talked down
what is worth a rule of law
when graft infills the judge’s gown

dreams of equality have been mangled ’n maimed throughout
coining a make-belief that’s what it was all about
everybody just works on everyone in a different way
and at some point in time we’ll all grasp this with dismay
we’re all unequal

we’re all so different when viewed by the eyes
of someone acting for the state
we’re all so different when viewed by the eyes
of someone acting for the employer
we’re all so different when viewed by the eyes
of someone acting for the judiciary
we’re all so different when viewed by the eyes
of teachers, landlords, colleagues and friends

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