Old Judge Duffy



Old John Martin Duffy was judge in our court

In a small ranching town in the West;

Although he knew nothing about rules of the law.

For judge he was one of the best.



One night in the winter a murder occurred,

And our blacksmith accused of the crime.

They caught him red-handed and though he'd two trials,

The verdict was guilty each time.



Now he was the only good blacksmith we had,

And we wanted to spare him his life;

So Duffy rose up in the court like a lord,

And with these words he settled the strife:



"I move we discharge him. We need him in town,"

Then spoke out the words that have gained him renown:

"We've two Chinese laundrymen, everyone knows.

Why not save the poor blacksmith and hang one of those?"



From Southern Folk Ballads, McNeill. Collected from Clem Adams,

AK, 1978. Obviously a spiritual relation of Judge Roy Bean.

@law @judge @murder

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