Folsom Prison Blues Lyrics

Johnny Cash
Folsom Prison Blues

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I hear the train a-comin'; it's rollin' 'round the bend,

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And I ain't seen the sunshine since I don't know when,

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I'm stuck at Folsom Prison and time keeps draggin' on.

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But that train keeps a-rollin' on down to San Antone.

When I was just a baby, my momma 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 cry.

I bet there's rich folk eatin'in a fancy dining car.
They're prob'ly drinkin' coffee and smokin' big cigars,
But I know I had it comin', I know I can't be free,
But those people keep a-movin', and 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 all 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.