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
I carefree lad that love to roam but Lord I wish I´d stayed at home

The way it looks I´ll prob´ly 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 prob´ly 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 the sun must´ve touched his brain
I dig that ditch...

I gat a gal back home that´s sweet and kind and she´s been waitin´ a long long time

I just told her to forget my name I won´t ever live down to shame
Lord deliver me from this hole before I lose my mind and soul
The place gets weak and the back gets broke ain´t no cause to laugh and joke
I dig that ditch...
Work like a dog on a chain gang work like a dog on a chain gang