In a flatbed, in a trailer   You are royalty there   Among kings and their jailers   You speak the truth with your open mouth   Oh, to be a boy   In the dirty south      In the rec room   When the rains came   She opened her arms to you   You tried to love her, well,   You only ended up in jail   The dirty south   Is your living hell      A tree, you stand there   While they sharpen their blades   To cut you down      Beautiful things can come from   The dark I once said and I   Hoped that you would believe and   Rise up from the ashes, but now   You've been beaten down   By the dirty south   So, let's give a crown   A gold, shining crown   To the dirty south      To be a boy   In the dirty south