Detainees

Lyrics by: Marcy Matasick
Gaggle: Santa Fe Raging Grannies
Tune: Folsom Prison Blues
Date Written or Updated: 05/14/26

I hear that gate a slammin’
behind those detainees
More workers, moms, and children
all wondering, “Why me?”
No charges, no convictions,
no reasons, only lies
They are rounded up like cattle
They don’t know if they’ll survive

A daddy counts missed birthdays
he’s feeling so alone
A child is crying “Momma,
why can’t we just go home?”
They hold onto their memories –
that’s all they get to keep
But the system wants to break them,
just for the cruelty

The new Trump 5-star gulag:
His brand is looking peak
There’s gourmet food with maggots
The uniforms are chic
That razor wire is gleaming
far as the eye can see
And it’s spreading like a cancer
across the land of the free

Oh, detainees, we hear you
The whole world feels your pain
We’ll carry you within our hearts
’til you come home again
The lies cannot define you
or steal your dignity
We will fight for truth and justice
until the day you are free