Amanda

 

Amanda took a plane across the sea plane landed in Italy 

beautiful little hilltop town prettiest when the sun went down

 

a girl like that is going to fall in love, was a boy from the south who'd travelled up 

showed her all around the beautiful city, he never knew how sweet life could be 

 

   Amanda, you were innocent then

   you're not so innocent now

 

early on one November morning come back to the house and the door was open 

you unsuspecting you walked in, who could have imagined?

 

that Meredith was killed the night before and was lying dead behind a locked door 

the police rocked up after lunch, suspected you on a hunch 

 

they took you into custody, forced you to see what you didn't see 

police chief with a reputation to mend he wasn't going to fail again 

 

   Amanda, you were innocent then

   you're not so innocent now

throw a bit of sex in with the blood and the gore and the media couldn't love it more 

how did they get hold of your diary? they've got sources they won't reveal 

 

wind up, lie and exaggerate, never mind it's somebody's fate 

like wolves they circle around the city, wouldn't have bothered if you hadn't been pretty 

 

   Amanda, you were innocent then

   you're not so innocent now

 

now the Italians can't make up their minds, one loses and the other finds 

they all say that you acted tense, but that's just not evidence 

 

and after four years the court agrees and you take a plane out of Italy 

back to Seattle from whence you came, but can life ever be the same? 

 

I'm sorry for the family of the girl who died, they are the ones who've suffered and cried 

but we should all feel a sense of shame, reading such stories without using our brains 

 

   Amanda, you were innocent then

   you're not so innocent now