Do you remember Cassius Clay
when the government wanted to put him away?
He would not fight a war of that particular kind
Still, he knew he was the best
so he changed his named and you know the rest
Guilty by reason of the rhyme

It's just like me and you
when we find the things we're supposed to do
You might try to put them out of your mind
But remember this my friend
it'll do for awhile but get you at the end
Guilty be reason of the rhyme

Now you might want to leave a trail
to find your way back home
but even if you lose your way
you still won't walk alone

Like a man who sings a song
Got the melody right but the words all wrong
He knows the tune but he cannot keep the time
Like Jonah in the whale well he tried to run though he could not fail
Guilty by reason of the rhyme

Well I have a dream some nights
when I close my eyes and turn out the lights
they call my name but they do not state the crime
They make me raise my hand
and they carry my body to the witness stand
Guilty by reason of the rhyme
I'm guilty by reason of the rhyme
I'm guilty by reason of the rhyme

COLIN LINDEN-SOCAN-1995
Colin Linden Publishing/Warner-Chappell Music Canada

Gary Craig: Drums
John Dymond: Electric Stand-up Bass
Richard Bell: Organ
Michel Pouliot: Percussion
Rick Danko: Georgia Sea Island Choir
CL: Guitars, Mandolin, Vocal

Artist's Note

"Reason of the Rhyme" started out to be a song for the Toronto Maple Leafs, but deviated before the pen hit the paper. I wrote it in Madison, Wisconsin while I was on the road with Bruce Cockburn. It's about destiny. Rick Danko's doing all the background vocals. The combination of all the parts sounds a little like the Georgia Sea Island Singers