I'm a poor man as honest as they come I never was a thief until they caught me The judge said he swore me hands were red No matter how I'd plead he found me guilty There was no bail, I'm of to Durham Gaol I'm going and nothing now can save me Calamities they always come in threes And that's how many months it was they gave me [Chorus] And it's no never in the livelong day Will you find me back in Durham Gaol No never in the live long day Will you find me back in Durham Gaol 'Twas a gray day when first I went astray The devil takes the man who came to tempt me For in no time me life was one of crime And now you see the trouble that it's got me There are four bare walls at which to stare Me food and me lodgings they are paid for You can't see the turning of the key To hear the turning that is all you wait for [Chorus] Oh it's sad to say that here I am to stay With only iron bars around to lean on I get a cold bath to dampen down me wrath Though it's barely just a month ago I had one God knows I need a suit of clothes You'd think they could found a one to fit me Me boots would be fine if they were both a nine I'm walking like a fall of stones had hit me [Chorus] And I'm sure that me mother's heart would break To see me in a state of such repentance I'm glad she's not around to see And I'll be out before she finishes her sentence The sun will shine, I'll leave it all behind Knowing I've done me time and done me duty Then out of the gate on the narrow and the straight To the place where I've buried all the booty [Chorus]