Wonderful Rock/Folk song, very catchy, nice vocal Michael !

Fantastic!  Really scary lyrics, matched by gritty performances all around.  Your vocals never disappoint.  Love Chalo's accordion!

This song is inspired by a true story of a Mexican citizen I met who was incarcerated for 3 years without ever being charged, tried, or sentenced. Sadly, this is all too common in Mexico: "Four out of every 10 Mexicans currently behind bars have not been convicted of a crime, according to new official statistics that experts say show the depth of injustice in the country . . . Much of the issue stems from Mexico's use of mandatory pretrial detention, or prisión preventiva oficiosa, a no-bail system in which those accused of certain crimes such as burglary, fuel theft, kidnapping, or drug trafficking can be jailed without probable cause and held for years without trial." https://www.axios.com/2023/07/25/mexico-pretrial-detention-andres-manuel-lopez-obrador

For those listeners unfamiliar with Spanish, "Déjame ir" means "Let me go".

Lyrics: 
Ominous early morning knock on the door
Cops swarm in, pin him down on the floor
No reading of rights, just knocks ‘n’ deep bruises
Cascade of bad-mouthing, it scares and confuses
Tossed in a small cell, no hearing or trial
With five other inmates, not even a smile
A fist or a knife, a boot to the balls
For who or what is he taking this fall?      

Every day’s a nightmare straight outta Hell
The bad guys are devils, the good guys as well
If the sicho don’t getcha, a brutal guard will
So, you gotta stay quiet, you gotta stay still
In the showers come the men, there’s probably four
This time it’s the pretty boy pinned to the floor
A fist or a knife, a boot to the balls
For who or what is he taking this fall?

The chow’s pretty scarce, he gotta get more
Soul sold for the right to set up a store
Just to earn a few pesos to keep up his strength
When hunger grips, you go to any length
Every week they come round for a piece of the action
And if he falls short, there’s a harsh reaction
A fist or a knife, a boot to the balls
For who or what is he taking this fall?

Bridge
All he is seeking is peace of mind
Away from the fist, the boot and the knife
Peace of mind, yeah, peace of mind
And the chance to start a new life, start a new life, start a new life

Five years on, he’s still in the jail
No trial date announced, no chance to get bail
Five years lost, his wife and kids gone
No money to speak of, house sold for a song
His best mate’s been in for 15 years
Still awaiting a sentence, he still knows the fear
Of a fist or knife, a boot to the balls
And the question why did he take such a fall?      (Déjame ir x muchos)

Credits:
Music, lyrics & vocals: Michael Sellers
Guitars & bass; keyboards; Sergio Aguilar
Accordion: Gonzalo (Chalo) Cardenas
Drums: Rodrigo Uribe
Production, musical arrangement, mixing & mastering: Sergio Aguilar
Cover design: Michael Sellers
Track cover photo: Image by Tim Hüfner on Unsplash

The Fist, the Boot & the Knife

Michael Sellers is a guitar playing singer-songwriter from England, now living and recording songs in Merida, Mexico. 

Landing page: https://linktr.ee/michaelfirthsellers

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