(Verse 1)

Steel bars cold, like a winter's breath,

Wastin' in this jail, waitin' for my death.

Judge's gavel fell, like a thunder's blow,

Now I'm down here low, where the shadows grow.

Got no mama's love, no sweet honey's grace,

Just these iron walls, and this empty space.

(Verse 2)

They say I robbed a man, down by the riverside,

Claim I took his money, and left him there to die.

But I swear on my soul, it ain't the truth I told,

Just a poor boy's story, growin' old and cold.

These concrete floors, they chill me to the bone,

Wish I was back home, where I ain't alone.

(Verse 3)

Chain gang's callin', hear the hammer's ring,

Another day of sorrow, what the blues will bring.

This county jail, it's a buryin' ground,

Where a man's lost hope, ain't never found.

They got me workin' hard, 'til my hands bleed red,

Just a livin' ghost, wishin' I was dead.

(Verse 4)

Hear the mournful train, howlin' through the night,

Singin' my sad song, beneath the pale moonlight.

They say justice blind, but it ain't blind to me,

Just a heavy hand, that sets a poor man free.

Free to rot and waste, in this concrete tomb,

Till the devil calls, and seals my doom.

(Verse 5)

Wastin' in this jail, my spirit's wearin' thin,

For all my earthly sins, where do I begin?

This iron cot, it's my lonely bed,

Thinkin' 'bout the life, that I should've led.

Now the darkness falls, and the shadows creep,

Wastin' in this jail, while the angels weep.

(Outro)