These chains of sorrow, they are heavy, it is true   And these locks cannot be broken,   no, not with one thousand keys   O Jailer, you wear a ball-n-chain you cannot see   You can lay your burden on me   You can lay your burden down on me   You can lay your burden down upon me   But you cannot lay down those memories.      Woooo wooo wooo   Woooo wooo wooo   Here I go!   Knockin on Joe!   This square foot of sky will be mine til I die   Knocking on Joe   Woooo wooo wooo   All down the row.   Knockin on Joe.      O Warden I surrender you   Your fists cain't hurt me anymore   You know, these hands will never wash   These dirty Death Row floors   O Preacher, come closer, you don't scare me anymore   Just tell Nancy not to come here   Just tell her not to come here anymore   Tell Nancy not to come   And let me die in the memory of her arms.      O woo woo woo   Woo woo woo   All down the row.   Knockin on Joe.   O you kings of halls and ends of halls   You will die within these walls   And I'll go, all down the row   Knockin on Joe.      O Nancy's body is a coffin,   she wears my tombstone at her head   O Nancy's body is a coffin,   she wears my tombstone at her head   She wears her body like a coffin   She wears a dress of gold and red   She wears a dress of gold and red   She wears a dress of red and gold   Grave-looters at my coffin   before my bodies even cold.      It's a door for when I go   Knockin on Joe   These hands will never mop   your dirty Death Row floors   No! You can hide! You can run!   O but your trial is yet to come   O you can run! You can hide!   But you have yet to be tried!   You can lay your burden down here   You can lay your burden down here   Knockin on Joe   You can lay your burden upon me   You can lay your burden down upon me   Knockin on Joe   You cain't hurt me anymore   Knockin on Joe.