Dan Gonzalez: Music
Public Square
(Dan Gonzalez)
The yard was teeming with weekend folks
In long black coats and velvet scarves
Their horses tied to hitching posts
Their eyes on the rope
That hung in the air and swung from the gallows’ crossbar
In Public Square
Public Square
The band was playing dixieland
The curbside vendors sold lemonade
The bookies took bets at the lynching stand
Would he thrash on the rope
And flail with his hands, or hang down plumb and take the pain
In Public Square
Public Square
Serving justice in open air
Public Square
The man in the hood climbed the steps
One by one to the gallows’ perch
They cinched up the noose around his neck
When the platform released
Under his feet, he floated free as a blackbird
In Public Square
Public Square
Serving justice in open air
Public Square