I hear the train a-coming

It's rolling 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-rolling on down to San Anton

When I was just a baby my mama told me

Son always be a good boy don't ever play with guns

But I shoot a man in Reno just to watch him die

When I hear that whistle blowing I hang my head and cry

I bet there's rich folk eating in a fancy dining car

They're probably drinking coffee and smoking big cigars

Well I know I had it coming I know I can't be free

But those people keep a-moving and that's what tortures me

Well if they freed me from this prison if railroad train was mine

I bet I'd move it on a little farther down the line

Far from Folson Prison that's where I want to stay

And I'd let that lonesome whistle blow my blues away