Sheriff John Brown just wandered into town   Looking for a cripple and a thief   A black man and a woman and a lonesome guy like me   Just trying to raise the stakes so we can be free   The dustballs were blowing the sun it cracked the ground   Where could a crime like this ever be found   Good people of the town said to sheriff John Brown   Go and shoot those invalids right down    I said Sheriff no don't you be cruel it could happen to you now      What exactly have they done said sheriff John Brown   For me to shoot those poor old bastards down   Then outstepped the preacher with his hand upon his heart   Can't you see that I've been chosen by god   And I tell you this for nothing   That crowd ain't no good   They're standing out just like a sore thumb   But yes I do agree said the lawyer on the left   I'd kill them now if it were up to me      But I said sheriff don't be cruel it could happen to you now      Out into the wilderness the sheriff he did ride   Heading for the river bridge the laws you must abide   Two hours became three, I knew he would come for me   The day grew long and I began to tire   John Brown's face appeared from behind the fire   Boys and girls whatcho doing gonna be so free   The people of the town talk dissapprovingly   Don't want to take you in, thats not up to me      I said sheriff don't be cruel it could happen to you now      But guilt and doubt they cloud his mind   He thought what exactly is the law   He didn't even know what it stood for   And who pays the cost for all that is lost   Seems to me an impossibility   And who says whats right and who says whats wrong   Who benefits it sure ain't me   And outstepped the woman saying we mean you no harm   Come closer and I will read your palm      But I said sheriff no don't you be cruel it could happen to you now      That night he left a long road came back without a rest   Knowingly he questionned ??? lawyer on the left   Bet you've gone and set them sinners free   Well yes replied the sheriff they done nothing wrong   My god why can't you people see   And the preacher shot him down and his head it hit the ground   The last you'll ever see of poor John Brown      And the moral of this tale it is simple it is plain   People always need someone to blame      But I said sheriff no don't you be cruel it could happen to you now   But I said sheriff no don't you be cruel it could happen to you now