There's a tiny little window and the sun comes shining through  Dancing with the dust that's in my cell  There's a sparrow sitting on the sill and he stays for a minute or two  But he's frightened by the ringing of the bell  There's a bed that I must lie on when at night I take my rest  And a chair for me to sit on through the day  The men who wait beside me always know what's best  For a man who doesn't have too much to say  Throw a laugh into the corner, blow a tear against the wall  Learn a game to play, improve the mind  Confess your sins, you sinner, and think how the seconds fall  Leave all earthly cares and woes behind  And when my short affair with life is ended and I'm gone  Will you tell the world the story of John Lee?  All you see is nothing and yet everything lives on  I was born to pay the hangman's fee