I got rid of the shackles that bound me

And the guards that were always around me.

There were tears on the mail

Mother wrote me in jail,

But I'm free from the chain gang now.

All the years I was known and respected

Till one day I was wrongly suspected.

I was shackled in chains

In the cold, freezin' rain,

But I'm free from the chain gang now.

All the years I was known by a number.

How I kept my mind is a wonder.

But like a bird in a tree,

I got my liberty,

And I'm free from the chain gang now.

I got rid of the shackles that bound me

And the guards that were always around me.

There were tears on the mail

Mother wrote me in jail,

But I'm free from the chain gang now.

There were tears on the mail

Mother wrote me in jail,

But I'm free from the chain gang now.