Two Good Arms

TWO GOOD ARMS
(Charlie King)

Who will remember, the hands so white and fine
That touched the finest linen, that poured the finest wine?
Who will remember, the genteel words they spoke
To name the lives of two good men, a nuisance or a joke?

And all who know these two good arms
Know I never had to rob or kill
I can live by my own two hands and live well
And all my life I have struggled
To rid the earth of all such crimes.

Who will remember Judge Webster Thayer,
One hand on the gavel, the other resting on his chair?
Who will remember the hateful words he said,
Speaking to the living in the language of the dead?

And all who know these two good arms
Know I never had to rob or kill
I can live by my own two hands and live well
And all my life I have struggled
To rid the earth of all such crimes

Who will remember the hand upon the switch
That took the lives of two good men in the service of the rich?
Who will remember the one that gave the nod
And the chaplain standing near at hand to invoke the name of God?

And all who know these two good arms
Know I never had to rob or kill
I can live by my own two hands and live well
And all my life I have struggled
To rid the earth of all such crimes

We will remember this poor shoemaker
We will remember this poor fish peddler
We will remember the strong arms and hands
That never once found justice in the hands that rule this land

And all who knew these two good men
Knew they never had to rob or kill
They each lived by his own two hands,
And they lived well
And all their lives they did struggle
To rid the earth of all such crimes
And all our lives we must struggle
To rid the earth of all such crimes