G C G
'Twas in St Louis City where I first saw the light,
D
brought up by honest parents in the pathway of right.
G C G
I was left on orphan at the age of ten years,
D G
on mother's grave I've shed many tears.
G C G
I'd scarcely reached manhood when I left my old home,
D
with some other fellows to the west we did roam.
G C G
Seeking employment though scarcely could find,
D G C D G
we seemed so poor and the people unkind.
G C G
Was in New York City where we first met our fate,
D
we were arrested while roaming the streets.
G C G
The charges were burglars, the theft it was small,
D G
but they said it would place us behind the stone walls.
G C G
We were marched next morning to the courthouse for trial,
D
my pal was downhearted, so I gave him a smile.
G C G
We pleaded for mercy, but was shown none at all,
D G C D G
they gave us twenty years behind the stone walls.
G C G
We were handcuffed next morning and marched to the pen,
D
we arrived there at midnight with a few other men.
G C G
The doors were thrown open, we marched in the halls,
D G
and learned to be a convict behind the stone walls.
G C G
While lying that night on a pallet of straw,
D
I swore I would never again break the law.
G C G
There's none but your mother to bear your downfall,
D G C D G
when you are a convict behind the stone walls.
G C G
Come all you young fellows and listen to me,
D
when you loose life's pleasures, you've lost liberty.
G C G
I've tasted life's pleasures, it's bitterer than gall,
D G
it'll lead to a cell behind the stone walls.
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