around travelin' through a little ol' town
A man walked up and said come with me
you're broke and son that's vagrancy
I carefree lad that love to roam but
Lord I wish I'd stayed at home
The way it looks I'll probably hang cause
there ain't no hope on a chain gang
I dig that ditch I chop that corn I
curse the day that I was born
I believe it's better for a man to hang than to
work like a dog on a chain gang
The guard stands there with a great big
gun I bet he'd love to see me run
And I guess I probably will some day I'd
rather be dead than to live this way
He's well fed and he's six foot tall
and he's a meanest of them all
He cracks that whip and he swings that cane
the sun must've touched his brain
I got a gal back home that's sweet and kind
and she's been waitin' a long long time
I just told her to forget my name I
won't ever live down to shame
Lord deliver me from this hole be
fore I lose my mind and soul
The place gets weak and the back gets
broke ain't no cause to laugh and joke
Work like a dog on a chain gang
work like a dog on a chain gang
