Oh Mama, you know inside I didn't do it.
They've taken away every bit of pride I ever had.
Oh Mama, clean my room out well for Susan.
These last few words are driving me mad.
Oh Dada, I'm glad to see you're still on my side.
I'm glad to see you're not like all the rest.
Oh Dada, take my wages from the payout.
Have a drink for me, be sure to drink the best.
Cos you know where I'm going, I won't be coming back
'N' they ain't got no pubs up there, or dusty beaten tracks
Where sinners sin their way through life 'n' police win their catch
Cos they ain' got no sinners there or dirty prison yards.
Oh brother, take good care of my sister.
Hold the memories of the good times that we once had.
Oh brother, I'm sorry that I've gotta leave this way.
Try not to cry, I know you know it's hard.
Oh sister, though you're too young to understand,
Too young to even understand the love that I hold for you.
Oh sister, perhaps when you're a little older.
Ma'll tell you what your friends in school say, it just ain't true.
Cos what people say now and in days to come
Are two different matters and we'll prove 'em wrong.
So don't listen to them, you'll make it on your own.
Tell me you'll believe me now an'll believe me when I'm gone.
Oh gov'nor, can't you wait for a reprieval?
Already you've taken the blankets off my bed.
Oh gov'nor, you do your job so efficiently
You give me my post-mortem before I'm even dead.
Oh warden, please let me smoke my last cigarette.
Let me say a prayer to the lord before I go.
Oh warden, don't take your job oh so serious.
Now my last request, "don't throw that switch on the wall".
I know this is my last so I'll bid the world farewell.
And the lord must now decide whether I should go to hell
Or w'er he needs my services in paradise above
Where everybody lives in peace and preaches words of love.