It was December the sixth 1983   I was doin' time for armed robbery   At four in the morning, I was sitting in my cell   I heard a whistle blow, and I heard somebody yell         There's a riot going on   There's a riot going on   There's a riot going on   Up in cell block number nine         Our warden said Come out with your hands up in the air   If you don't stop this riot you're all gonna get the chair   And Scarface Jones said It's too late to quit   Pass the dynamite, don't you give me any shit         There's a riot going on   There's a riot going on   There's a riot going on   Up in cell block number nine         On the 47th hour the nerve gas got our men   We're all back in our cells but every now and then         There's a riot going on   There's a riot going on   There's a riot going on   Up in cellblock number nine   Up in cellblock number nine   Up in cellblock number nine