In the state of Illinois, about nine years ago, a cold-blooded killer, he went against the law.
He killed a factory guard when his robbery did fail, and they caught him and they threw him into jail.
He lay there in his cell, locked up with his hate, not many men knew of him and less cared for his fate.
And he knew no peace of mind when his trial was coming by, the judge said, you are guilty, you must die.
But Paul Crump is alive today, he's a-sittin' in his cell, he's got something to say.
Every man has got something to give, and if a man can change, then a man should live.
They sent him to Cook County Jail, a jail known far and wide, where pity was a stranger and brave men often cried.
They locked him in the death row to count the days before, till the day they came a-knockin' at his door.
But another warden came along, Jack Johnson was his name, he knew how prison living could drive a man to shame.
He had no need of pistols or the solitary cells, when a word of trust would help them just as well.
Now Paul Crump is alive today, he's a-sittin' in his cell, he's got something to say.
Every man has got something to give, and if a man can change, then a man should live.
Between the warden and the convict, a friendship slowly grew, one learned from the other that a man can live anew.
Then the warden told the convict, you must leave the devil's plan, the time has come for you to be a man.
Then the convict found religion and he started in to learn, he wrote himself a novel called Burn, Killer Burn.
And as his dying day grew near to the warden, he did cry, you must pull the switch if I must die.
But Paul Crump is alive today, he's a-sittin' in his cell, he's got something to say.
Every man has got something to give, and if a man can change, then a man should live.
It was up to Governor Kerner to keep him from the grave, was rehabilitation a reason to be saved?
The hour was coming closer, the word was spread around, a new and better answer must be found.
Well, the electric chair was cheated, the convict didn't pay, a new concept of justice was born and raised that day.
Now throughout this peaceful land there are others set to die, what better time than now to question why?
Cause Paul Crump is alive today, he's a-sittin' in his cell, he's got something to say.
Every man has got something to give, and if a man can change, then a man should live.