So i'm playin' my guitar in the middle of the street
and along comes a policeman and he says that he will beat me
if i do not put all my things away
he's tellin' me it's a section 8
one boy says that's harsh and that piggy turns around
he says he'll beat him down if he makes another sound
he tells the people that they have to go away
he says it's illegal for them to hear me play

So i ask my mama, what is wrong with that policeman?
and she says he's only doin' the very best that he can
i say it'd be better if we killed that piggy dead
after we kill him we could kill the President
after we killed him we'd kill the ones that work for him too
and make sure they're all dead so they can't kill me and you
and then we'll take a hammer and we'll knock their buildings down
we could be so happy with the world turned upside down...

Mother, oh dear i'm sure you've heard- the chief of police is dead
some crazy bastard went and put a bullet in his head
and now i am in prison, i've been charged with the crime
but i must insist that i did assist the man, he was Tommy Ryan

'Cos Tommy Ryan is a good man, he's fightin' for you and me
that someday my brothers and sisters, we will all be free
Tommy Ryan is a good man, he's fightin' for one and all
and so we pray that maybe someday the Empire will fall

And on that fateful night when i shouted, Go Tommy Go!
he ran into the night to where? nobody knows
and the police they beat me, they called me a snivelling swine
but no matter how hard they hit, i never mentioned Tommy Ryan

'Cos Tommy Ryan is a good man, he's fightin' for you and me
that someday my sisters and brothers, we will all be free
Tommy Ryan is a good man, he's fightin' for one and all
and so we pray that maybe someday the Empire will fall

So i'm playin' my guitar in the middle of the street
and along comes a policeman and he says that he will beat me
if i do not put all my things away
he's tellin' me it's a section 8
but this time i think that he is in for a big surprise
when he looks into all the people's eyes
they'll tell him that they are gonna play
this stupid fuckin' song until their dyin' day