Well, I'm goin' to a place where the tough guys go
and come out even tougher.
A place where a man don't show his feelings,
a place where a man don't cry.
Well, they say I'm bein' punished
and they say I can be reformed
but some day I'll return.
Did they really think that this time it'd work,
you knew all along it wouldn't.
Oh, I'm prison bound
I did a crime one too many times.
It's on the outskirts of town by the railroad tracks
where the country moon shines.
Oh, I'm prison bound
tell my girl I'll be back one day.
Oh, I'm prison bound
I may never know any other way.
Well, they've taken away my freedom of expression or action
Johnny says I'll walk the line
with three hots and a cot and a lot of talk
with lock-up concrete and steel.
Well, It's cold and It's clammy
man it's colder than a pimp's heart
but I gotta do my time.
There's a lesson to be learned here but what a price to pay
you know, I may never learn
