There´s a small jail in Georgia that you all know,
Where the sun´s so hot and the daylight don´t show.
Where the moccasin she rests on a soft bed of sand,
You can hear the hound dog howling out the land.

It ain´t the way I wanted it.
But Lord that´s the price you pay.

I said jailer bring me water for my throat is dry,
Four walls, steel bars, I´ve been watching passersby,
I´ve been sitting here so damn long I´m starting to cry,
The hangman´s coming, I´m surely gonna die.

It ain´t the way I wanted it.
But Lord that´s the price you pay.

Oh, honk on it, boy.

I shot a man in Macon over a poker game,
I killed another in Atlanta just to build my fame,
Well, now I hear the hammers they´re pounding out my name.
It ain´t the way I wanted it, but that´s the price you pay.

It ain´t the way I wanted it.
But Lord that´s the price you pay.

Hey jailer, how about that water my throat´s still dry,
Four walls, steel bars, I´ve been watching passersby,
I´ve been sitting here so damn long I´m starting to cry,
The hangman´s coming I´m surely gonna die.

It ain´t the way I wanted it.
But Lord that´s the price you pay,
It ain´t the way I wanted it.
But Lord that´s the price you pay.

Oh, you done out of rope son.

It ain´t the way I wanted it.
But Lord that´s the price you pay.