I Never Picked Cotton

I never picked cotton
Like my mother did and my brother did
And my sister did and my Daddy died young
Workin' in a coal mine

When I was just a baby too little for the cotton sack
I played in the dirt while the others worked
'Til they couldn't straighten up their backs
And I made myself a promise when I was old enough to run
That I'd never stay a single day in that Oklahoma sun

And I never picked cotton
Like my mother did and my brother did
And my sister did and my Daddy died young
Workin' in a coal mine

Folks said that I grew up early and the farm couldn't hold me then
So I stole ten bucks and a pickup truck and I never went back again
And it was fast cars and whiskey, long legged girls and fun
I had everything that money could bring and I took it all with a gun

And I never picked cotton
Like my mother did and my brother did
And my sister did and my Daddy died young
Workin' in a coal mine

It was Saturday night in Memphis when a redneck grabbed my shirt
And he said, "Go back to your cotton sack", I left him lying in the dirt
And they'll take me in the morning to the gallows just outside
And in the time I've got there ain't a hell of a lot
I can look back on with pride

But I never picked cotton
Like my mother did and my brother did
And my sister did and my Daddy died young
Workin' in a coal mine

I never picked cotton
Like my mother did and my brother did
And my sister did and my Daddy died young
Workin' in a coal mine