I hear the train a comin'
it's rolling round the bend
well I ain't seen the sunshine since I don't know when,
but I'm stuck in folsom prison, and time keeps draggin' on
but I hear the train a rollin' on down to San Anton..
when I was just a baby my mama told me. son,
always be a good boy, and don't ever play with guns.
but I shot a man in Reno just to watch him die
and I hear the whistle blowing, I my head and cry..

I bet there's rich folks eating in a fancy dining car
they're probably drinkin' whiskey and smoking big cigars.
well I know I had it coming, I know I can't be free
but those people keep a movin'
and that's what tortures me...

and if they'd free me from this prison,
if that railroad train were mine
I bet I'd move a little on a little farther down the line
far from folsom prison, that's where I want to be
and I'd let that lonesome whistle blow my blues away.....