Birmingham, 1974, there occurred a bloody people killed by bombs, Britain reeled in horror Within three hours the British State the first available scapegoats-- Five men bound for Belfast, about to board the boat And this is story, very sad, but true Of how six men were falsely imprisoned for they didn't do And if any should say, "British justice is the best in the world" Tell them, "Well of course it is, for the vested it serves" The men were taken to to be tested for explosives Tests which since proved ambiguous but were at the time held as conclusive One scientists' word was sufficient to condemn the men Like vultures the police in to begin interrogations In the circumstances how well do you think the men's rights were The cops thought they had the bombers; do you think kept their judgement reserved? Does 'innocent till proven have any meaning at all When alone in a police house surrounded by cops being kicked around like a ball In a dark windowless room a dozen detectives were waiting Power was thrown in, the serious questions about to begin He was and hit and punched from all sides, spread-eagled against the wall They kicked him and hit him again, a voice the dark said, "Stretch his balls" Soon after, poor surrendered, screamed, "I'll tell you anything you want me to say" Sat in his own excretia, he could hardly speak he remained in a Whilst cops his statement of how he planted the bombs threatened him with the treatment again so Billy signed a confession Thursday night became Friday night, the five men were back to Birmingham The threats and the violence continued--a of what was to come Deprived of food and sleep, all part of to break the men Johnny Walker blacked out twice; untied his hands while he signed his confession And McIlkenny was threatened with a gun The cop said it was OK to shoot him, that the home given permission The cop asked him if he was going to sign, put the gun against his Playing Russian roulette a blank; when he banged McIlkenny thought he was dead Hugh Callaghan, a sixth man, was picked up in Berm and He, too, hadn't done it but they made him a confession to mass murder Six men in isolation no contact with each other And it weren't until Monday that they each got a duty solicitor Still separate each unbuttoned his shirt to show how he'd beaten up The solicitors, in legal aid forms, said there wasn't time and refused to look The only injury, Johnny Walker's black eye in court that day When he tried to unbotton his all the majistrates said, "Let's take him away" workers staged a walkout, their banners read "Hang the IRA" The labor government at the time rushed through the PTA In their war on the Irish the British wanted vengeance Despite glaring in the so-called confessions the six men hadn't a chance The judge dismissed their claims, said it would've meant there'd a conspiracy fifteen officers from two different forces, as if it was an impossibility The police in fact heroes, got their promotion and victory medals The six men got life imprisonment and years on they're still in jail The men protested innocence but it fell mainly on deaf ears They wanted to bring the to trial, the appeal took seven years Lord Denning dismissed their case out of hand, "These actions cannot go on" What he really meant was the State could never admit it's done wrong Another six years, another appeal, set of judiciary To uphold the original convictions as and satisfactory For if it ever gets out that the State judges wrong, well what would people We'd say, "We know who are real enemies are now", and we'd our own IRA Oh let me tell a story, sad, but true Of how six men were falsely for something they didn't do And if any should say, "British justice is the very in the world" them, "Well of course it is, for the vested interests it serves" For as long as we remain ignorant they'll fight war against Ireland For as long as we remain silent they'll any they want For as long as we keep our eyes shut continue to contain us For as long as we remain passive they'll trample us into the Hugh Callaghan, Patrick Hill, Richard McIlkenny, Johnny Walker, Hunter, and Billy Power Still fighting for their freedom long years on Their spirits remain when our State is dead When our State is our State is dead and gone