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.