Folsom Prison Blues

Well, I hear that train a-coming
It's rolling around the bend
Well, I ain't seen the sunshine
Since I don't know when

And I'm stuck in Folsom Prison
And time keeps dragging on
Well, that train keeps a-rolling
On down to San Antone

When I was just a baby
My mama told me, son
She said, always be a good boy
Don't never play with guns

But I shot a man in Reno
Just to watch him die
When I hear that whistle blowing
I hang my head and cry

Well, I bet there's rich folks eating
From a fancy dining car
Well, they're probably drinking coffee
And smoking big cigars

Well, I know I had it coming
I know I can't be free
Now, those people keep a-moving
That's what tortures me

If they freed me from this prison
If that railroad train was mine
I bet I'd move it all a little
Farther down the line

Yeah, far from Folsom Prison
That's where I want to stay
Lord, I here that whistle blowing
Blow my blues away, yeah

It's been thirty years now, and I know I'll never leave this godforsaken place alive.
Honest to God, when I hear her words ringing through my head as loud as that old train whistle,
crying out to me night after endless night, sending a cold steel shiver through my lost soul,
I close my eyes and pray that that iron horse is bound for the promised land and I'll get to ride it home to glory someday.