1.

Boston Jail

Tony Senn - Tommy Stough

© Four Star Music, BMI

Wino Skid Row Joe some on vegranci
They've got all kinds in the Boston jail
Now they've got me

In the county jail in old Boston they've got all kinds you see
From all walks of life they come all lost their liberty
Now some's got wives just outside a waitin' for their return
Long timers short timers and some a waitin' to burn

Wino Skid Row Joe some on vegranci...

Now some will say yesterday I really had the jack
But paper and pen got me locked in them checks come a bouncin' back
And late at night when the lights go out they tell their tales of woe
About old friends and places they've been and where they'd like to go

Wino Skid Row Joe some on vegranci...
[ instrumental ]
But it's too late that one mistake condemns them to a cell
Where ev'ry dream's a forgotten thing and each day's a livin' hell
Listen guys if you're wise from this town you'll run
Or soon you'll find you're a pullin' time in the jail in old Boston

Wino Skid Row Joe some on vegranci...
Wino Skid Row Joe some on vegranci...

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2.

The Convict And The Rose

Betty Chapin - Robert King

© Shapiro-Bernstein Co, ASCAP

Within my prison cell so dreary
Alone I sit with aching heart
I'm thinking of my lonely darlin'
From her forever I must part

A rose she sent me as a token
She sent it just to light my gloom
To tell me that her heart is broken
To cheer me fore I meet my doom

She wrote I took it from the garden
Where once we wandered side by side
But now you hold no hope of pardon
And I can never be your bride
[ instrumental ]
The judge would not believe my story
The jury said I had to pay
But to the rose in all its glory
Not guilty's all that I can say

Goodbye sweetheart for in the morning
I'll meet my Maker in repose
And when I'll go at daylight's dawning
Against my heart they'll find this rose

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3.

I Relived My Life Today

Vic McAlpin

© Tree Pub, BMI

Tonight my heart's as heavy as these cold gray walls of stone
Cause I know I'll see my last sunrise with tomorrow's early dawn
Cause an old gray haired judge said guilty for your crime you must pay
So with the final curtain falling I relived my life today

From the time my mama tucked me so gently in my bed
And said son don't worry about tomorrow that's another dream ahead
To the sad eyed old barber that just shaved my head and slipped away
These are the first and final chapters of my life I relived today

I remember the prettiest girl I ever knew with big blue eyes and lips so sweet
How ev'ry Saturday back on the farm we'd go swimmin' in the creek
And the big tent revivals where all the neighbors would sing and pray
That's another chapter of my life I relived today

There's my old faithful dog that walked in ev'ry step I made
Sometimes he'd fallowed me to school
And just laid around there and wait in the shade
When my final class was over and on the way home we'd run and play
That's just another chapter of my life I relived today

My brother Jim died in his cradle some kinda fever they didn't know what
Dad used to look at me and say son now you're the only little man I've got
But somewhere along life's pathway fate took my hand and I went astray
That's another chapter of my life I relived today

Yes tonight my heart's as heavy as these cold gray walls of stone
Cause I know I'll see my last sunrise with tomorrow's early dawn
Cause the old gray haired judge said guilty for your crime you must pay
So with the final curtain falling I relived my life today

**********

4.

I'm Just Here To Get My Baby Out Of Jail

Karl Davis - Harty Taylor

© M.M. Cole Music, BMI

(Yes warden)
I'm just here to get my baby out of jail

I'm not in your town to stay said a lady old and gray
To the warden of the penitentiary
I'm not in your town to stay and I'll soon be on my way
I'm just here to get my baby out of jail
(Yes warden)
I'm just here to get my baby out of jail

I tried to raise baby right and I prayed both day and night
That he wouldn't follow the footsteps of his dad
And I've searched both far and wide and I'd feared that he had died
But at last I found my baby here in jail
(Yes warden)
You know I want my baby out of jail

I will pawn you my watch and I'll pawn you my chain
I will pawn you my golden wedding band
I will wash all your clothes and I'll scrub all your floors
If that will get my baby out of jail
(Yes warden)
You know I want my baby out of jail

Then I heard the warden say to the lady so old and gray
I'll bring your darlin' boy to your side
Then two big iron gates swung wide apart she held her darlin' to her heart
In the arms of her boy boy she died
(A smiling)
In the arms of her dear boy there she died

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5.

Let Me In

Gene Crysler

© Southtown Music, BMI

A little boy knocked at the warden's door of Sing Sing then in tears
Said sir I understand that 8-3-9-6-8 lives here
Well that's my daddy sir and I just got to be near him
If you can't let him out you just got to let me in

Let me in let me in 8-3-9-6-8's my dad
I watched them bury my mama and now he's all in the world I have
I can break your little rocks put a hammer in my hand
I just gotta be near daddy Mister warden let me in
[ instrumental ]
Well I've checked through California Alcatraz out on the Rock
From Folsom onto Leavenworth and no one had my pop
Then I found the old news clipping in my mama's souvenirs
And here I am at Sing Sing 8-3-9-6-8 lives here

Let me in let me in 8-3-9-6-8's my dad
I watched them bury my mama and now he's all in the world I have
I can break your little rocks put a hammer in my hand
I just gotta be near daddy Mister warden please let me in

**********

6.

The Big River Train

Johnny Mullins

© Sure-Fire Music, BMI

In the land of the Ponderosa pine there runs a giant 8-wheeler
Known as the Big River Train
Just before she disappears into the forest she passes by a prison
Where many a convicts has dreamed of riding her rails to freedom
I'd like to tell you a story as it was told to me
It's called The Legend Of The Big River Train

Keep that 8-wheel drive a rollin' let her lonesome whistle whine
For it tells the world a story as it whistles through the pines
In the death car lies a convict with a number for his name
And he's going home this morning on that old Big River Train

Well they brought him to this prison twenty years ago this date
Changed his name into a number then he became my prison mate
Somehow I knew he wasn't guilty from the very day he came
Yet they brought him to this prison on that old Big River Train

We became the best of buddies side by side through thick and thin
Then one night he told his story how he have framed by evil men
Men who bought and bribed the jury seekin' only selfish gain
Yes they sent an honest man to prison condemned him to a life of shame

Many many times I've heard him tell me when he'd hear that whistle blow
That same old train that brought me here pal is gonna take me home I know
I'll ride it back to my home country and there I'll clear my honest name
Well they shipped him back this morning on that old Big River Train

But he's gone to meek his Maker in a land that's bright and new
Gone to claim a peace of freedom that heaven knows was overdue
Of a crime he wasn't guilty just a victim of a frame
Yes he came and now he's leavin' on that old Big River Train

And he's going home this morning on that old Big River Train

**********

7.

The Snakes Crawl At Night

Mel Tillis - Fred Burch

© Cedarwood Pub, BMI

All the snakes crawl at night that's what they say
When the sun goes down then the sneaks will play

Well I watched that car pull right in my driveway
Then I saw a shadow slipping from my house
So I hurried straight and looked into her bedroom
And I found out that it was my loving spouse

All the snakes crawl at night that's what they say...

So I waited in the shadows until morning
And the gun I held was trembling in my hand
No I did not plan to give them any warning
Cause the devil on my shoulder had command

All the snakes crawl at night that's what they say...

Well the trial in a little while was over
And they sentenced me to die right away
But before I leave this courtroom please Your Honor
There is something more I'd like to say

All the snakes crawl at night that's what they say...

When the sun goes down then the sneaks will play
When the sun goes down then the sneaks will play

**********

8.

They're All Going Home But One

Karl Davis - Harty Taylor

© M.M. Cole Music, BMI

They were five of us boys in the family
We told our dear mama goodbye
And left our little home down in Georgie
Our luck in the city to try

We agreed to go back there and see her
When two years had passed away
She told us that she would be waiting
That two years is over today

They're all going home to mama tonight
They're all going home but one
And mama will be so happy tonight
And proud of each fortunate son

But one of her boys will be missing
There's one she will fail to see
They're all going home to mama tonight
They're all going home but me
[ instrumental ]
Tonight it's so dark here in prison
I sit gazing out through the bars
And thinkin' of mama in Georgie
I can still see her face in the stars

The rest were all steadfast and loyal
Not one tear would they cause her to shed
But I was the one who disgraced her
A criminal better off dead

They're all going home to mama tonight
They're all going home but me

**********

9.

Folsom Prison Blues

Johnny Cash

© Hi-Lo Music, BMI

I hear the train a comin' it's rollin' round the bend
And I ain't seen the sunshine since I don't know when
I'm stuck in Folsom Prison and time keeps dragging on
But that train keeps a rollin' on down to San Antone

When I was just a baby my mama told me son
Always be a good boy don't ever play with guns
But I shot a man in Reno just to watch him die
When I hear that whistle blowin' I hang my head and I cry

I bet there's rich folks eatin' in a fancy dinin' car
They're probably drinkin' coffee and smokin' big cigars
But I know I had it comin' I know I can't be free
But them people keep a movin' that's what tortures me

Well if they freed me from this prison if that railroad train was mine
I bet I'd move it on a little farther down the line
Far from Folsom Prison that's where I want to stay
And I'd let that lonesome whistle blow my blues away

**********

10.

Soul Of A Convict

Eddie Sovine

© Play Toy Music, BMI

(Will he take the soul of a convict
Could I be one of those he choosed)

I was taught the Bible from childhood
At my mother's knee I learned to pray
I was taught of God and all his goodness
And the devil and his evil ways
There's good in the bad and bad in the good
And there's none that's free from sin
But there's some questions I've wondered about
What happens to the men who die in the pen

Just imagine yourself the judge
God Almighty as you gaze over all these men
When death takes its toll what becomes of the soul
Of the men who die in the pen
Do you think of God that's true and just
Could look from his heavenly throne
And be pleased to see men placed in chains and stripes
And tucked from their loved ones at home
Worked until they're completely exhausted
And your soul cries out in vain
Fed like a hog and treated like a dog
And at night to the bed you're chained

Worked from sunup to sundown through all kinds of weather
And if you don't do the things just right
You get introduced to the leather
Now you see it's not the pain I mind so much
As I'm stretched out on the floor
It's just the thought that I can't do my part
That's what breaks my heart
You see I'm just not man enough anymore

Oh there are a lotta other things I could tell you
That you'd marvel at and say
Why I didn't know in those modern times
They treated men that way but they do
That's why I ask you do you think
That God could turn with a sneer and frown
At the men who die in the pen
Do you think he'll turn us down
I believe there's a heaven and a hell
And in God I put my trust
That's why I'm askin' these questions
I believe he's true and just
And I just imagine he'll tell me
As we meet at the golden stairs
Hell's not just meant for some of the men who die in the pen
But for some who have mistreated them there

You see we're payin' for the mistakes we made in our sins
As we've had our troubles in life
Because we're the underdogs of humanity
And surely God won't make us pay twice

I believe on that Day of Judgement
He'll have this convict called in
And he'll say it's true hell's not for you
You had your hell in the pen

**********

11.

Green Green Grass Of Home

Curly Putman

© Tree Pub, BMI

The old hometown looks the same
As I step down from the train
And there to meet me is my mama and papa
And down the road I look and there runs Mary
Hair of gold and lips like cherries
It's good to touch the green green grass of home

Yes they've all come to meet me
Arms arreached and smilin' sweetly
It's so good to touch the green green grass of home

The old house is still standing
Though the paint is cracked and dry
And there's that old oak tree that I used to play on
Down the lane I walk with my sweet Mary
Hair of gold and lips like cherries
It's good to touch the green green grass of home

Then I awake and look around me
At these cold grey walls that surround me
And I realize that I was only dreamin'
For there's a guard and there's a sad old padre
Arm in arm we'll walk at daybreak
When again I'll touch the green green grass of home

They'll all come to see me
In the shade of that old oak tree
As they lay me neath the green green grass of home

**********

12.

(I Heard That) Lonesome Whistle

Hank Williams - Jimmie Davis

© Fred Rose Music, BMI

I was ridin' No 9 headin' south from Caroline
I heard that lone-vow-vow-some whistle blow
Got in trouble had to roam left my gal and left my home
I heard that lone-vow-vow-some whistle blow

Just a kid actin' smart I went and broke my darlin's heart
I guess I was too young to know
They took me off a Georgia Main locked me to a ball and chain
I heard that lone-vow-vow-some whistle blow

All alone I bear the shame I'm a number not a name
I heard that lone-vow-vow-some whistle blow
All I do is sit and cry when that evenin' train goes by
I heard that lone-vow-vow-some whistle blow

I'll be locked here in this cell till my body's just a shell
And my hair turns whiter than snow
I'll never see that gal of mine cause I'm in Georgia doin' time
I heard that lone-vow-vow-some whistle blow

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