Lyr Add: Justice en Lieu by Charley Noble

Subject: Lyr Add: Justice en Lieu by Charley Noble
From: Charley Noble
Date: 08 Jan 05 - 04:38 PM

I posted this song in another thread but not as a Lyric Add, and it's hard to find if someone really needed to find it. Here's my notes on the origin of this song:

Portland Press Herald, 9/9/93
Associated Press


JUDGE SPENDS NIGHT IN BATHROOM


MACHIAS ? A judge who spent nearly 14 hours locked in a bathroom was freed Thursday when the Washington County Courthouse opened and a staff member heard a banging noise.

Justice Francis C. Marsano was preparing for the start of Superior Court when he left his chambers Wednesday to use a private bathroom.

Maintenance workers said Thursday that the push-button locking system on the restroom door apparently jammed after it was locked by the judge. Marsano tried to release the lock, but to no avail.

At some point during the evening, Marsano managed to remove the pins from the door?s hinges, but the door still refused to budge.

The maintenance crew, which was summoned shortly after the courthouse opened at 8 a.m., was forced to destroy the lock to free the judge.

"It's funny now," said Norris Manchester, the maintenance supervisor. "But it wasn't funny at the time."

Here are the my lyrics (copy and past into WORD/TIMES/12 to line up the chords):


JUSTICE EN LIEU

(Words by Charlie Ipcar © 1993
Inspired by an Associated Press story ? 9/9/93
Tune 19th Century Irish Music Hall: "I Wish They'd Do It Now")


C---G?C------------G-C------G-C----------F---C
There are trials and trib-u-la-tions as in life we make our way,
--F-----------G7-F-C-----------D-----------C-G
Of-ten there's lit-tle jus-tice, you can hear the peo-ple say;
---------------C----------G-C-G-C------------F-----C
Now comes the Ci-ty of Ma-chi-as, on Maine's rock-bound shore,
----F--------G7--F----C-------G----C---------G7--C
Jus-tice was all con-found-ed at the Court-house bath-room door.

'Twas in the year of '93, September the eighth day,
Judge Marsano left his chambers, or so the papers say;
He entered his private bathroom, his duty to pursue,
How could he have imagined ? fourteen hours en lieu?

When he tried to leave the bathroom, he found it was no go;
The lock had jammed, his staff had left, no one could hear his woe;
So this Justice was confounded ? his story will endure ?
By the push-button locking system on the Courthouse bathroom door.

C-G7-F----C
On the Court-house bathroom door,
---G7-F----C-------------G
On the Court-house bathroom door,
------------C------------F--C
By the push-button locking sy-stem
------G-----C---------G7--C
On the Court-house bath-room door.


First he tried to force the lock, but 'twas to no avail,
If he'd only had a bucket, he might have gotten out on bail;
Next he removed the hinge pins, but that door refused to budge,
There seemed to be no earthly way to win early release for the Judge.

If he'd only brought some lawbooks, he might have shown more zeal,
He could have drafted a petition and gotten out on appeal;
But this Justice was confounded ? his story will endure ?
By the push-button locking system on the Courthouse bathroom door.

On the Courthouse bathroom door,
On the Courthouse bathroom door,
By the push-button locking system
On the Courthouse bathroom door.

So early the next morning, his staff was surprised to hear
Such unruly banging and shouting from the bathroom in the rear;
They smashed the lock to free the Judge, and one later did allow:
"It wasn't funny at the time, but it sure is funny now!"

Cheerily,
Charley Noble

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Justice en Lieu by Charley Noble
From: coldjam
Date: 08 Jan 05 - 04:44 PM

Great song Charlie, good last line anytime!

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Justice en Lieu by Charley Noble
From: Bob Bolton
Date: 08 Jan 05 - 08:18 PM

G'day Charlie,

(Just my addiction to bad puns surfacing ...)

Any objection to the English-speaking dropping the French accented form in lieu = (~phon) "on loo" to the common English pronunciation "in loo" ... well, it's funny to the English-speaking!

Regard(les)s,

Bob

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Justice en Lieu by Charley Noble
From: Charley Noble
Date: 09 Jan 05 - 10:31 AM

Bob-

Just having fun punning with the legal term "en lieu" but "in lieu" would also be amusing. Take your pick!

I sent Judge Marsano a copy of the song soon after I composed it but, sadly, he never replied. When he retired from the bench a few years ago, I was not invited to his retirement "roasting." Such a pity.

Cheerily,
Charley Noble

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Justice en Lieu by Charley Noble
From: JennyO
Date: 09 Jan 05 - 10:49 AM

Hi Charlie. I remember you singing that one when you were here in Oz. In fact, I still have the tape I made at the sessions at our place and at freda's. I've played it quite a bit, so it's in my head. Brings back a lot of fond memories!

Jenny

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Justice en Lieu by Charley Noble
From: Charley Noble
Date: 09 Jan 05 - 04:53 PM

Hi, Jenny! Sorry to miss your most recent BBQ.

Cheerily,
Charley Noble

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Justice en Lieu by Charley Noble
From: Bob Bolton
Date: 09 Jan 05 - 05:33 PM

G'day Charlie,

I think that the act of Jenny & John declaring a backyard barbecue (well ... the local contraction is barbie ... but that gets a bit confusing with some of your Maine lobster-fishers warped sense of humour ...) leads to a local reversal of the El Niño phenomenon. Saturday night was brisk, if not particularly rainy - I was the only one in short shirtsleeves (and that only means it didn't snow!).

However, a good time had by all, and the singaround session was the usual eclectic mixture ... boosted by John's booming renditions of his own and folk songs ... and with some European folksong backed by Vielle ('hurdygurdy') and Belgian bagpipes! Some lovely concertina work from Crane Driver on his (Butterworth) / Crane / (Triumph) duet ... and very nice singing by SussexCarole!

Photos showing JennyO, Jack Halyard, Sandra in Sydney, Freda Underhill and myself along with SussexCarole and Crane Driver should be heading off to the Mudcat Photos page.

Regards,

Bob

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Justice en Lieu by Charley Noble
From: JennyO
Date: 09 Jan 05 - 09:49 PM

G'day Bob. Yes, you seem to be right about the weather. However, it will be back to its more common summer weather by Wednesday, according to the Weather Bureau, with temps in the 30's for the next few days.

I must say too I enjoyed your concertina tunes, particularly that first dancy one to the hymn tune (is it called "Precious Jewels"?) Best rendition of that tune I have ever heard, that's for sure. I got a couple of pics of you playing it, but you'll have to wait till I get my photos developed from my old fashioned steam-driven camera.

Charlie, I really wish you could have been there too - and Maine is looking some way off still due to lack of savings :-( I am going to have to put the little I have saved into buying another car shortly. This one is getting too elderly - but after another year of saving - who knows? I want to visit the UK too, at about the same time as freda did last year, but my hopes for this year are not high.

Sorry 'bout the thread drift.....

Jenny (in pensive mood)

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Justice en Lieu by Charley Noble
From: Bob Bolton
Date: 09 Jan 05 - 10:27 PM

G'day Jenny,

(Oh dear ... a bit more in the drift ... ) The second tune in that bunch of Polka Mazurkas was the hymn called When He Cometh (and the third was a jazzed up variant, from Victoria). I've heard the hymn described as " a German hymn" ... and also as "a Children's Crusade Hymn". I simply remember it as a common enough hymn in the Church of England.

I sometimes play that tune when I people of many bush tales of Sunday Church Services at little churches that were the only hall in the district. After the travelling preacher had loaded up the bible, prayer books and lectern and ridden away to the next church ... everyone would dash back into the church ... slide all the pews up against the wall ... get out their fiddle, accordion or concertina ... and have a few hours dancing ... before sweeping the hall, lining up the pews, emptying the flower vases and locking up the church for the week!

Regards,

Bob

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Justice en Lieu by Charley Noble
From: Charley Noble
Date: 13 Mar 05 - 05:59 PM

Here's a link to an MP3 file so you can hear how I sing this song: Charley Noble Website

Cheerily,
Charley Noble