Gracie Lee Stevens - The Ballad of Billie Jo

[Verse] Billy Jo had always believed in love Until her husband Brian beat her beliefs out of her She would tremble with fear Hoping that he would not come home drunk Because if he did, His fists would come raining down on her like a hail of bullets Brian did not know what love is [Chorus] Love has nothing to do with control or fear or denigration Love is commitment Love is respect Love is devotion. [Verse 2} Their son Jimmy would see Brian’s example And beat on kids in school Using the same words that Brian used He was learning the wrong lesson Billie Jo knew he needed to learn the right one [Chorus] Love has nothing to do with control or fear or denigration Love is commitment Love is respect Love is devotion. {Verse 3] Billy Jo loved her son dearly And hated Brian His constant abuse had left her broken But one day Billy Jo found the resolve to fight back Her end to the abuse was simple She did it without even realizing it She was barely cognizant when she was being handcuffed by the cops When she was asked why she did it, She said Brian did not know what love is [Chorus] Love has nothing to do with control or fear or denigration Love is commitment Love is respect Love is devotion. {Verse 4] The prosecutor called Brian's murder a crime of passion Billy Jo always maintained that it was self-defense The judge gave her life in prison without the possibility of parole Simply because she wanted to have a life free from abuse She'd escaped one prison only to find herself in another Her friends abandoned her Only her son went to visit her He had learned the right lesson [Chorus] Love has nothing to do with control or fear or denigration Love is commitment Love is respect Love is devotion. [Bridge] Billy Joe spent many years in prison Until one of the guards found her She was hanging from the ceiling by linen rope. At her feet was a small note addressed to her son It said simply: I love you Her funeral was very small It was only attended by Jimmy and his wife and daughter All Jimmy could think about was the lesson he had learned [Chorus] Love has nothing to do with control or fear or denigration Love is commitment Love is respect Love is devotion.