"Freeze", said the man cruisin´ the beat
"You get your hands up and spread your feet"
"Don´t you move an inch", I heard him say
"Or you´ll be doin´ time until the judgement day"
And he said, "Don´t tell me no lies, give me alibis

´Cause if you cross my path, you´ll be doin´ life"
It´s a dirty lie
CHORUS:
It´s a shakedown
And it´s a nervous shakedown
A nervous shakedown
Another nervous shakedown
It´s a shakedown
And it´s a nervous shakedown
We got a shakedown
Another nervous shakedown
(It´s more like a set-up)
"Take a dime", said the man, "you can make one call
You got a one-way ticket to the County Hall"
Well, the judge looked high and I looked low
And when he smiled at me it was a one-man show

He said, "Two to five, the jury decides
Double parole if you survive"
It´s a dirty lie
CHORUS
Law is gonna get you this time
And throw away the key
CHORUS
Shake you down, shake you down
And it´s another shakedown
Well it´s a shakedown
Another nervous shakedown
Shake you down, shake you down
And it´s a nervous shakedown
It´s a shakedown
It´s a shakedown on - you, yes