Jez Lowe 1985
Lowe tells the story that he had a mental block once during a performance and had to think on his feet. He made up the verse about the stripy jumper as he went along and preferred it to the original.
https://jezlowe.bandcamp.com/track/back-in-durham-gaol-2
https://jezlowe.bandcamp.com/track/back-in-durham-gaol-2
I’m a poor man, as honest as they come, I never was a thief until they caught me. And the judge, he said, he swore me hands were red, No matter how I plead, they find me guilty. There was no bail, off to Durham jail, I went, no nothing now could save me, Calamities, they always come in threes, And that’s how many months it was they gave me. Chorus (x2) And no never in the live long day, You’ll not find me back in Durham jail. ‘Twas a gray day when first I went astray, The devil take the man that came to tempt me. “Cause in no time, me life was one of crime, And now you see the trouble that it’s got me. Well there’s four bare walls at which to stare, Me board and me lodgings are all paid for, You can’t see the turnin’ of the key, To hear the turnin’ back is all you wait for. Oh but sad to say, here I am to stay, With only iron bars around to lean on. I get a cold bath to dampen down me wrath- Though it’s barely just a month ago I had one. God knows, I need a suit o’ clothes, You’d think they could’ve found a one to fit me. Me boots would be fine if they were both a nine, I’m walkin’ like a fall o’ stones has hit me. And I’m sure that me mother’s heart would break, To see me in a state of such repentance. I’m glad she’s not around to see -ÿ And I’ll be out before she finishes her sentence. The sun will shine, I’ll leave it all behind, Once more I’ll be a name and not a number, Out of the gate on the narrow and the straight; I hope they let me keep the stripy jumper.