Malvina Reynolds: Song Lyrics and Poems  



Jailhouse Door

Notes: words and music by Malvina Reynolds; copyright 1958 Schroder Music Company, renewed 1986. In the Table of Contents to her songbook Song in My Pocket Malvina writes of this song: "There are too many in, that should be out, and, as Tweedledee says, 'Contrariwise!'"


The jailhouse, the jailhouse,
It is an awful place.
There was a time when only crime
Would merit such disgrace.
But now if you should chance to say
You want to see a better day,
You're liable to be put away
With bars across your face.

Chorus:
Open up the jailhouse door,
Open up the jailhouse door,
Open wide, open wide for Democracy's inside
And we need her as we never did before.

The heroes, the heroes,
Who fight for peace and bread,
They should be given glory
But they're given chains instead,
And if you want good company,
For goodness' sake don't look at me,
They're all put under lock and key
For fear they might be red.

(Chorus)

It's lonely, it's lonely,
Within those prison gates,
And Liberty's a prisoner, too,
Who languishes and waits,
But when she hears our voices sound,
She'll know we've got reaction downed
That wants to make a prison ground
Of these United States.

Open up the jailhouse door,
Open up the jailhouse door,
Open wide, open wide for Democracy's inside
And we're never going to lose her any more.


Malvina Reynolds songbook(s) in which the music to this song appears:
---- Song in My Pocket: Songs

Malvina Reynolds recording(s) on which this song is performed:
---- [none]

Recordings by other artists on which this song is performed:
---- listen to youtube.com video


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This page copyright 2006 by Charles H. Smith and Nancy Schimmel. All rights reserved.

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