Chain Gang

I was just a kid roamin' around

Travelin' through, a little ol' town

A man walked up and said come with me

You're broke and son that's vagrancy

A 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

That sun must've touched his brain

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

I got a gal back home that's sweet and kind

But she's been waitin' a long, long time

I just told her to forget my name

I won't ever live down the shame

Lord, deliver me from this hole

Before I lose my mind and soul

The flesh gets weak and the back gets broke

There ain't no 'cause to laugh and joke

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

Work like a dog on a chain gang

Work like a dog on a chain gang

Work like a dog on a chain gang