Porter Wagoner Album

Wino Skid Row Joe some on vegranci
They've got all kinds in the Boston jail now they've got me

In the county jail in old Boston they've got all kinds you see
From all walks of life they come all lost their liberty
Now some got wives just outside a waitin' for their return
Long timers short timers and some a waitin' to burn
Wino Skid Row Joe...

Now some will say yesterday I really had the jack
But paper and pen got me locked in them checks come a bouncin' back
And late at night when the lights go out they tell their tales of voe
About old friends and places they've been and where they'd like to go
Wino Skid Row Joe...
( steel )
But it's too late that one mistake condemns them to a cell
Where every dream's a forgotten thing and each day's a living hell
Listen guys if you're wise from this town you'll run
Or soon you'll find you're a pullin' time in the jail in old Boston
Wino Skid Row Joe...
Wino Skid Row Joe...

Within my prison cell so dreary alone I sit with aching heart
I'm thinking of my lonely darling from her forever I must part
A rose she sent me as a token she sent it just to light my gloom
To tell me that her heart is broken to cheer me fore I meet my doom
She wrote I took it from the garden where once we wandered side by side
But now you hold no hope of pardon and I can never be your bride
[ fiddle ]
The judge would not believe my story the jury said I had to pay
But to the rose in all its glory not guilty's all that I can say
Goodbye sweetheart for in the morning I'll meet my Maker in repose
And when I'll go at daylight's dawning against my heart they'll find this rose

Tonight my heart's as heavy as these cold gray walls of stone
Cause I know I'll see my last sunrise with tomorrow's early dawn
Cause an old gray haired judge said guity for your crime you must pay
So with the final curtain falling I relived my life today
From the time my mama tucked me so gently in my bed
And said son don't worry about tomorrow that's another dream ahead
To the sad eyed old barber that just shaved my head and slipped away
These're the first and final chapters of my life I relived today
I remember the prettiest girl I ever knew with big bue eyes and lips so sweet
How every Saturday back on the farm we'd go swimmin' in the creek
And the big tent revivals where all the neighbors would sing and pray
That's another chapter of my ife I relived today
There's my old faithful dog that walked in every step I made
Sometimes he'd folowed me to school
And just laid around there and wait in the shade
When my final class was over and on the way home we'd run and play
That's just another chapter of my life I relived today
My brother Jim died in his cradle some kinds of fever they didn't know what
Dad used to look at me and say son now you're the only little man I've got
But somewhere along life's pathway fate took my hand and I went astray
That's another chapter of my ife I relived today
Yes tonight my heart's as heavy as these cold gray walls of stone
Cause I know I'll see my last sunrise with tomorrow's early dawn
Cause an old gray haired judge said guity for your crime you must pay
So with the final curtain falling I relived my life today

(Yes warden) I'm just here to get my baby out of jail
I'm not in your town to stay said a lady old and gray
To the warden of the penitentiary
I'm not in your town to stay and I'll soon be on my way
I'm just here to get my baby out of jail
(Yes warden) I'm just here to get my baby out of jail
I tried to raise baby right and I prayed both day and night
That he wouldn't follow the footsteps of his dad
And I've searched both far and wide and I'd feared that he had died
But at ast I found my baby here in jail
(Yes warden) you know I want my baby out of jail
I will pawn you my watch and I'll pawn you my chain
I will pawn you my golden wedding band
I will wash all your clothes and I'll scrub all your floors
If that will get my baby out of jail
(Yes warden) you know I want my baby out of jail
Then I heard the warden say to the lady so old and gray
I'll bring your darlin' boy to your side
Then two big iron gates swung wide apart she held her darling to her heart
In the arms of her boy boy she died
(A smiling) in the arms of her dear boy there she died

A little boy knocked at the warden's door of Sing Sing then in tears
Said sir I understand that 83968 lives here
Well that's my daddy sir and I just got to be near him
If you can't let him out you just got to let me in
Let me in let me in 83968's my dad
I watched them bury my mama and now he's all the world I have
I can break your little rocks put a hammer in my hand
I just gotta be near daddy Mister warden let me in
[ fiddle ]
Well I've checked through California Alcatraz out on the Rock
From Folsom onto Leavenworth and no one had my pop
Then I found the old news clipping in my mama's souvenirs
And here I am at Sing Sing 83968 lives here
Let me in let me in...

In the land of the Ponderosa pine there runs a giant 8-wheeler
Known as the Big River Train
Just before she disappears into the forset she passes by a prison
Where many-a convicts has dreamed of riding her rails to freedom
I'd like to tel you a story as it was told to me
It's called The Legend Of The Big River Train

Keep that 8-wheel drive a rollin' let her lonesome whistle whine
For it tells the world a story as it whistles through the pines
In the death car lies a convict with a number for his name
And he's going home this morning on that old Big River Train
Well they brought him to this prison twenty years ago this date
Changed his name into a number then he became my prison mate
Somehow I knew he wasn't guilty from the very day he came
Yet they brought him to this prison on that old Big River Train
We became the best of buddies side by side through thick and thin
Then one night he told his story how he have framed by evil men
Men who bought and bribed the jury seekin' only selfish gain
Yes they sent an honest man to prison condemned him to a life of shame
Many many times I've heard him tell me when he'd hear that whistle blow
That same old train that brought me here pal is gonna take me home I know
I'll ride it back to my home country and there I'll clear my honest name
Well they shipped him back this morning on that old Big River Train
But he's gone to meek his Maker in a land that's bright and new
Gone to claim a peace of freedom that heaven knows was overdue
Of a crime he wasn't guilty just a victim of a frame
Yes he came and now he's leavin' on that old Big River Train
And he's going home this morning on that old Big River Train

All the snakes crawl at night that's what they say
When the sun goes down then the sneaks will play

Well I watched that car pull right in my driveway
Then I saw a shadow slipping from my house
So I hurried straight and looked into her bedroom
And I found out that it was my loving spouse
All the snakes crawl at night...

So I waited in the shadows until morning and the gun I held was trembling in my hand
No I did not plan to give them any warning
Cause the devil on my shoulder had command
All the snakes crawl at night...

Well the trial in a little while was over and they sentenced me to die right away
But before I leave this courtroom please Your Honor
There is something more I'd like to say
All the snakes crawl at night...
When the sun goes down then the sneaks will play
When the sun goes down then the sneaks will play

There were five of us boys in the family we told our dear mama goodbye
And left our little home down in Georgie our luck in the city to try
We agreed to go back there and see her when two years had passed away
She told us that she would be waiting that two years is over today
They're all going home to mama tonight they're all going home but one
And mama will be so happy tonight and proud of each fortunate son
But one of her boys will be missing there's one she will fail to see
They're all going home to mama tonight they're all going home but me
( harmonica )
Tonight it's so dark here in prison I sit gazing out through the bars
And thinkin' of mama in Georgie I can still see her face in the stars
The rest were all steadfast and loyal not one tear would they cause her to shed
But I was the one who disgraced her a criminal better off dead
They're all going home to mama tonight they're all going home but me

(Will he take the soul of a convict could I be one of those he choosed)
I was taught the Bible from childhood at my mother's knee I learned to pray
I was taught of God and all his goodness and the devil and his evil ways
There's good in the bad and bad in the good and there's none that's free from sin
But there's some questions I've wondered about
What happens to the men who die in the pen
Just imagine yourself the judge God Almighty as you gaze over all these men
When death takes its toll what becomes of the soul of the men who die in the pen
Do you think of God that's true and just could look from his heavenly throne
And be pleased to see men placed in chains and stripes
And tucked from their loved ones at home
Worked until they're completely axhuasted and your soul cries out in vain
Fed like a hog and treated like a dog and at night to the bed you're chained
Worked from sunup to sundown through all kinds of weather
And if you don't do the things just right you get introduced to the leather
Now you see it's not the pain I mind so much as I'm stretched out on the floor
It's just the thought that I can't do my part that's what breaks my heart
You see I'm just not man enough anymore
Oh there are a lotta other things I could tell you that you'd marvel at and say
Why I didn't know in those modern times they treated men that way but they do
That's why I ask you do you think that God could turn with a sneer and frown
At the men who die in the pen do you think he'll turn us down
I believe there's a heaven and a hell and in God I put my trust
That's why I'm askin' these questions I believe he's true and just
And I just imagine he'll tell me as we meet at the golden stairs
Hell's not just meant for some of the men who die in the pen
But for some who have mistreated them there
You see we're payin' for the mistakes we made in our sins
As we've had our troubles in life
Because we're the underdogs of humanity and surely God won't make us pay twice
I believe on that Day of Judgement he'll have this convict called in
And he'll say it's true hell's not for you you had your hell in the pen

The old hometown looks the same as I step down from the train
And there to meet me is my mama and papa
And down the road I look and there runs Mary hair of gold and lips like cherries
It's good to touch the green green grass of home
Yes they'll all come to meet me arms areached smiling sweetly
It's so good to touch the green green grass of home
The old house is still standing though the paint is cracked and dry
And there's that old oak tree that I used to play on
Down the lane I walk with my sweet Mary hair of gold and lips like cherries
It's good to touch the green green grass of home
Then I awake and look around me at these four grey walls that surround me
And I realize that I was only dreaming
For there's a guard and there's that sad old padre arm in arm we'll walk at daybreak
And again I'll touch the green green grass of home
They'll all come to see me in the shade of that old oak tree
As they lay me neath the green green grass of home

I was ridin' No 9 headin' south from Caroline
I heard that lone-vow-vow-some whistle blow
Got in trouble had to roam left my gal and left my home
I heard that lone-vow-vow-some whistle blow
Just a kid acting smart I went and broke my darling's heart
I guess I was too young to know
They took me off to Georgia Main locked me to a ball and chain
I heard that lone-vow-vow-some whistle blow
All alone I bear the shame I'm a number not a name
I heard that lone-vow-vow-some whistle blow
All I do is sit and cry when that evening train goes by
I heard that lone-vow-vow-some whistle blow
I'll be locked here in this cell till my body's just a shell
And my hair turns whiter than snow
I'll never see that gal of mine cause I'm in Georgia doing time
I heard that lone-vow-vow-some whistle blow