John Sinclair Lyrics

[Verse 1]
It ain't fair, John Sinclair
In the stir for breathing air
Won't you care for John Sinclair
In the stir for breathing air?
Let him be
Set him free
Let him be like you and me

[Chorus]
They gave him ten for two
And what else can the judges do?
You got to, got to, got to, got to, got to, got to, got to, got to, got to, got to, got to, got to, got to, got to
Got to set him free

[Verse 2]
If he had been a soldier man
Shooting gooks in Vietnam

If he was the CIA
Selling dope and making hay
He'd be free
They'd let him be

Breathing air like you and me
Right on

[Chorus]
They gave him ten for two
What else can the judges do?
You got to, got to, got to, got to, got to, got to, got to, got to, got to, got to, got to, got to, got to, got to
Got to set him free
Free
[Instrumental Break]

[Chorus]
They gave him ten for two
They got ol' Lee Otis, too
They got to, got to, got to, got to, got to, got to, got to, got to, got to, got to, got to, got to, got to, got to
Got to set him free
Free, now

[Verse 3]
Was he jailed for what he'd done
Or representin' everyone?
Free John now if we can
From the clutches of the man
Let him be
Lift the lid
Bring him to his wife and kids

Alright

[Chorus]
They gave him ten for two
What else can the bastards do?
You got to, got to, got to, got to, got to, got to, got to, got to, got to, got to, got to, got to, got to, got to
Got to set him free
Please

How to Format Lyrics:

  • Type out all lyrics, even repeating song parts like the chorus
  • Lyrics should be broken down into individual lines
  • Use section headers above different song parts like [Verse], [Chorus], etc.
  • Use italics (<i>lyric</i>) and bold (<b>lyric</b>) to distinguish between different vocalists in the same song part
  • If you don’t understand a lyric, use [?]

To learn more, check out our transcription guide or visit our transcribers forum

About

Genius Annotation

John Sinclair, poet, was jailed for possession of marijuana in 1969.
It became a cause celebre amongst musicians.

Q&A

Find answers to frequently asked questions about the song and explore its deeper meaning

Comments