July the second, it was 1963
I was servin' time for armed robbery
Four o'clock in the mornin', I was layin' back in my cell
I heard the whistle blow then I heard somebody yell
The riot started down in cell block # 4
Spread like wild fire across the prison floor
Scarface Jones said, "It's too late to quit
Pass the dynamite 'cause the fuse is lit"
Y'all gotta stop that stuff goin' on over there
If ya don't stop that riot, y'all gonna get the chair
I said, "Hey now boys, get ready to run
Here come the warden with an automatic gun"
In the forty seventh hour
The tear gas, it got our men
We are all back in our cells