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 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 blowin', I hang my head and cry
I bet there's rich folk eatin' in a fancy dining car
They're probably drinkin' coffee and smoking big cigars
Well 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 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