I never picked cotton like my mother did, and my brother did, and my sister did, and
my daddy died young working in a coal mine When I was just a baby, too little for the
cotton sack I played in the dirt while the others worked
till they couldn't straighten up their backs And I made myself a promise when I was old
enough to run That I'd never stay a single day in that
Oklahoma sun And I never picked cotton like my mother did,
and my brother did, and my sister did, and my daddy died young working in a coal mine
Folks said that I grew up early, and the farm couldn't hold me then
So I stole ten bucks and a pickup truck and I never went back again
And it was fast cars and whiskey, long-legged girls and fun
I had everything that money could bring, and I took it all with a gun
And I never picked cotton like my mother did, and my brother did, and my sister did, and
my daddy died young working in a coal mine
It was Saturday night in Memphis when a redneck grabbed my shirt
And he said, go back to your cotton sack I left him lying in the dirt
And they'll take me in the morning to the gallows just outside
And in the time I've got, there ain't a hell of a lot
I can look back on with pride But I never picked cotton like my mother did,
and my brother did, and my sister did, and my daddy died young working in a coal mine
I never picked cotton like my mother did, and my brother did, and my sister did, and
my daddy died young working in a coal mine