Verse1:
[E]Got in a little trouble, down at the county seat.
Lord, they put me in the jailhouse, for loafin' [B7]on the [E]street.
When the judge heard the verdict, said I'm a guilty man,
He said, "Forty-five dollars, or thirty [B7]days in the [E]can."
Said, "That'll be [A]cash on the barrelhead, [E]son;
You can make your [B7]choice, you're twenty-[E]one.
No money [A]down, no credit [E]plan,
No time to [B7]chase you, 'cause I'm busy [E]man."
Verse2:
Found a telephone number, on a laundry slip,
And a good-hearted jailer, with a six-gun hip.
He let me call long-distance, she said, "Number, please..."
No sooner than I told her, she shouted out at me,
Said, "That'll be cash on the barrelhead, son,
Not part, not half, but the entire sum.
No money down, no credit plan,
'Cause a little bird tells me, that you're a travellin' man."
Verse3:
Thirty days in the jailhouse, four days on the road,
I was feeling mighty hungry, my feet a heavy load.
Saw a greyhound comin', stuck up my thumb;
Before I got to my seat, the driver caught my arm.
Said, "That'll be cash on the barrelhead, son;
This old grey dog, she's paid to run.
When the engine stops, and the wheels won't roll,
You give me cash on the barrelhead, I'll take you down the road."
(some versions repeat last 4 lines of verse1, and/or tag last line)
(Thanks to Brian for corrections)
[E]Got in a little trouble, down at the county seat.
Lord, they put me in the jailhouse, for loafin' [B7]on the [E]street.
When the judge heard the verdict, said I'm a guilty man,
He said, "Forty-five dollars, or thirty [B7]days in the [E]can."
Said, "That'll be [A]cash on the barrelhead, [E]son;
You can make your [B7]choice, you're twenty-[E]one.
No money [A]down, no credit [E]plan,
No time to [B7]chase you, 'cause I'm busy [E]man."
Verse2:
Found a telephone number, on a laundry slip,
And a good-hearted jailer, with a six-gun hip.
He let me call long-distance, she said, "Number, please..."
No sooner than I told her, she shouted out at me,
Said, "That'll be cash on the barrelhead, son,
Not part, not half, but the entire sum.
No money down, no credit plan,
'Cause a little bird tells me, that you're a travellin' man."
Verse3:
Thirty days in the jailhouse, four days on the road,
I was feeling mighty hungry, my feet a heavy load.
Saw a greyhound comin', stuck up my thumb;
Before I got to my seat, the driver caught my arm.
Said, "That'll be cash on the barrelhead, son;
This old grey dog, she's paid to run.
When the engine stops, and the wheels won't roll,
You give me cash on the barrelhead, I'll take you down the road."
(some versions repeat last 4 lines of verse1, and/or tag last line)
(Thanks to Brian for corrections)
