I'M NOT THE MAN
Words and music by Natalie Merchant
As recorded by 10,000 Maniacs on "Our Time in Eden" (1992)

It crawls on his back, won't ever let him be.
Stares at the walls until the cinder blocks can breathe.
His eyes have gone away, escaping over time.
He rules a crowded nation inside his mind.

He knows that night like his hand. He knows every move he made.
Late shift, the bell that rang, a time card won't fade.
10:05 his truck pulled home; 10:05 he climbed his stair,
about the time he was accused of being there.

But I'm not the man.
He goes free as I wait on the row
for the man to test the rope
he'll slip around my throat...
and silence me.

On the day he was tried, no witness testified.
Nothing but evidence, not hard to falsify.
His own confession was a prosecutor's prize,
made up of fear, of rage, and of outright lies.

But I'm not the man.
He goes free as the candle vigil glows,
as they burn my clothes.
As the crowd cries, "Hang him slow!"
and I feel my blood go cold,
he goes free.

Call out the KKK, they're wild after me.
And with that frenzied look of half-demented zeal,
They'd love to serve me up my final meal.
Who'll read my final rite and hear my last appeal?
Who struck this devil's deal?

Copied from https://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/10000maniacs/imnottheman.html
recording, 10,000 Maniacs:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5YUg1QZ3sWY