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.