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      A carefree lad that love to roam   But Lord I wish I'd stayed at home   The way it looks I'll probably 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 probably 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   That sun must've touched his brain      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      I got a gal back home that's sweet and kind   But she's been waitin' a long, long time   I just told her to forget my name   I won't ever live down the shame      Lord, deliver me from this hole   Before I lose my mind and soul   The flesh gets weak and the back gets broke   There ain't no 'cause to laugh and joke      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      Work like a dog on a chain gang   Work like a dog on a chain gang   Work like a dog on a chain gang