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 momma told me, "Son,

always be a good;

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'

From a fancy dining car.

They're prob'ly drinkin' coffee

and smokin' big cigars.

Well, 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 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.