Cash Johnny Folsom Prison Blues Lyrics

Folsom Prison Blues Lyrics

By: John R. Cash

 Recorded 1/13/68

 Number 1 - Country Charts

 Number 32 - Pop Charts

 

 I hear the train a comin'; it's rollin' 'round the bend,

 And I ain't seen the sunshine since I don't know when.

 I'm stuck at Folsom Prison and time keeps draggin' on.

 But that train keeps rollin' on down to San Antone.

 

 When I was just a baby, my mama told me, "Son,

 Always be a good boy; don't ever play with guns."

 But I shot a man in Reno, just to watch him die.

 When I hear that whistle blowin' I hang my head and cry.

 

 I bet there's rich folk eatin' in a fancy dining car.

 They're prob'ly drinkin' coffee and smokin' big cigars,

 But I know I had it comin', I know I can't be free,

 But those people keep a movin', and that's what tortures me.

 

 Well, if they freed me from this prison, if that railroad train was mine,

 I bet I'd move on over a little farther down the line,

 Far from Folsom Prison, that's where I want to stay,

 And I'd let that lonesome whistle blow my blues away.