Standard (EADGBE)

 Well, I'm goin' to a place where the tough guys go

 and come out even tougher.

 A place where a man don't show his feelings,

 a place where a man don't cry.

 Well, they say I'm bein' punished

 and they say I can be reformed

 but some day I'll return.

 Did they really think that this time it'd work,

 you knew all along it wouldn't.

Chorus

 Oh, I'm prison bound

 I did a crime one too many times.

 It's on the outskirts of town by the railroad tracks

 where the country moon shines.

Oh, I'm prison bound

tell my girl I'll be back one day.

Oh, I'm prison bound

I may never know any other way.

Well, they've taken away my freedom of expression or action

Johnny says I'll walk the line

with three hots and a cot and a lot of talk

with lock-up concrete and steel.

Well, It's cold and It's clammy

man it's colder than a pimp's heart

but I gotta do my time.

There's a lesson to be learned here but what a price to pay

you know, I may never learn-

Chorus