Too Many Parties, Too Many Pals - Jim Reeves

Gentlemen of the jury

The judge’s speech began

The scene was a crowded courtroom

And the judge a stern old man

This prisoner here before you

Is a social enemy

A lady of the evening

And you know the penalty

Her eyes reflect the nightlife

Her cheeks are red with paint

But I knew her mother, gentlemen

Why, her mother was a saint

Now, I know that she’s not like her

And yet she might have been

If it hadn’t been for

Pettin' parties, cigarettes and gin

We took the night life off the streets

And brought it in our own homes

While girls beguiled with lipstick

Danced to saxophones

We opened up the underworld

To the ones we loved so well

So tell me gentlemen

Is it right to send her to a cell

If she drinks, well, you taught her

And if she smokes, you showed her how

So gentlemen, do you think it’s right

To condemn her now

And when you’re in that juryroom

Just remember there and then

That for every fallen woman

There’s a hundred fallen men

And before you render a verdict

On what this girl has done

Just remember there’s a man to blame

And that man might be your son

Now gentlemen that’s my story

My testimony stands

This girl is my own daughter

And the case is in your hands

(Too many parties and too many pals.)…