I hear the train a comin', it's rolling around the bend and I ain't seen the sunshine since I don't know when, I'm stuck in 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 blowing I hang my head and cry
I bet there's rich folks eating in a fancy dining car they're probably drinkin' coffee and smoking big cigars. Well I know I had it coming, I know I can't be free but those people keep a movin' ...and that's what tortures me
Well if they'd free 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