(Chain gang chain gang)
I was just a kid a roamin' around travelin' through a little ol' town
When a chief walked up and said come with me you're broke and son that's vagrancy
Just a carefully led who loved to roam and how I wish that I had stayed at home
For the way that I pleaded I would rather hang it's no life of living on a chain gang
I dig that ditch I chop that corn I curse the day that I was born
I believe it's better for a man to hang than to work like a dog on a chain gang

(Chain gang chain gang)
Well the guard stands there with a great big gun I bet he'd love to see me run
And I guess I probably will some day I'd rather be dead than to live this way
(From: http://www.elyrics.net)
He looks well fed and six foot tall and he's the meanest of us all
For he cracks that whip and he swings that cane I reckon the sun must've touched his brain
I dig that ditch...

(Chain gang chain gang)
I gat a gal back home who's true and kind and she's been a waitin' a long long time
I rolled and told her forget my name for I'll never lose this chain gang chain
The heaven to deliver me from this hole where a man can lose his mind and soul
The place gets weak and the back gets broke ain't no cause to laugh and joke
I dig that ditch...
Work like a dog on a chain gang work like a dog on a chain gang