Criminal from Good Stuff by Ladyshark

I wrote this song after I had a speeding violation in Virginia while I was on tour and had to go to traffic court. I'm not an American citizen and was on a travel visa at the time. It was a nerve wracking experience for me and my anxiety was terrible throughout it. Luckily I just had to pay some hefty fines. I was thinking afterwards how easy it is to get incarcerated through an accident. Then I also started thinking about how many people enter the prison system and can't be rehabilitated. This song was written about this.

Tracklist

8.	Criminal	5:24

Lyrics

Too many people are incarcerated ooo
For harmless crimes it makes me frustrated ooo
Freedom is a lucrative industry ooo
Most who enter will never be set free ooo

How do we fix this?
How do we fix this?

You could be a criminal in the blink of an eye
You could be a criminal and have nowhere to hide
You could be a criminal with your value ascribed
You could be a criminal and never get to go outside

Too many inmates are people of color ooo
Would it be the same if we were equal to each other? ooo
So many suicides happen behind bars ooo
Where was their help before they went that far ooo

How do we fix this?
How do we fix this?

You could be a criminal in the blink of an eye
You could be a criminal and have nowhere to hide
You could be a criminal with your value ascribed
You could be a criminal and never get to go outside

Prisons are bad mental asylums ooo
Once people get inside they can’t seem to revive ‘em ooo
Lost souls out on the street who can’t catch a break ooo
Mixed with souls who’ve made much more dangerous mistakes ooo

Credits

from Good Stuff, released June 22, 2020
Lyrics and composition by Sarah Vardy
Lead vocals, guitars and bass performed by Sarah Vardy
Drum composition and performance by Jane Boxall
Mixed and produced by Sarah Vardy

License