There’s a small jail in Georgia you all know
Where the sun’s so hot and the daylight don’t show
Where the moccasin she rests on a soft bed of sand
You can hear the hound dog howling out the land
Chorus:
It ain’t the way I wanted it But Lord that’s the price you pay
I said jailer bring me water for my throat is dry
Four walls, steel bars, I’ve been watching passersby
I’ve been sitting here so long I’m starting to cry
The hangman’s coming, I’m surely going to die
Chorus:
It ain’t the way I wanted it But Lord that’s the price you pay
Oh, honk on it, boy
A little jail cell blues here
LEAD BREAK
I shot a man in Macon over a poker game
I killed another in Atlanta just to build my fame
Well, now I hear the hammers they’re pounding out my name
It ain’t the way I wanted it But that’s the price you pay
It ain’t the way I wanted it But Lord that’s the price you pay
Hey jailer, how about that water my throat’s still dry
Four walls, steel bars, I’ve been watching passersby
I’ve been sitting here so damn long I’m starting to cry
The hangman’s coming I’m surely going to die
It ain’t the way I wanted it But Lord that’s the price you pay
(REPEAT)
It ain’t the way I wanted it But Lord that’s the price you pay
Oh, you done out of rope son