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.