Lyrics Folsom Prison Blues

Folsom Prison Blues was inspired by a newsreel about Folsom Prison that Johnny Cash saw in the film Inside the Walls of Folsom Prison (1951) while serving in the U.S. Air Force in West Germany. Cash felt compassion for the incarcerated men and wondered what it would be like to be imprisoned, leading to the famous line I shot a man in Reno just to watch him die. The song blends the sorrow of wasted time in prison with the iconic sound of the train ... See more [+]

I hear the train a-coming, it's rolling round the bend
and I ain't seen the sunshine since I don't know when
I'm stuck at Folsom Prison, and time keeps draggin' on
But that train keeps a-rollin' on down to San Antone

When I was just a baby, my Mama told me 'Son,
always be a good boy; don't ever play with guns.'
But I shot a man in Reno, just to watch him die
when I hear that whistle blowin' I hang my head and cry


I bet there's rich folks eatin' from a fancy dining car
They're probably drinking coffee and smoking big cigars
But I know I had it coming, I know I can't be free
But those people keep a moving, and that's what tortures me


Well, if they freed me from this prison, if that railroad train was mine
I bet I'd move it on a little farther down the line
Far from Folsom Prison, that's where I want to stay
And I'd let that lonesome whistle blow my blues away