I hear the train a-coming, it's rolling 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 a-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 folks eatin' in a fancy dining car
They're probably drinking coffee and smoking big cigars
But I know I had it coming, I know I can't be free
But those people keep a moving, 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 it on 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