Sam Brown

Ol' Sam Brown was a lonesome convict
He came from a Red River town
And there ain't no two ways about it
It was Texas laws that shot Sam down

Ol' Sam Brown told me his story
It seems a bad check writer was he
Seven times down and seven times sorry
He had to spend his life under lock and key

I guess that some will say he was worthless
And that he got only what was fair
But I'm here to say right now ol' Sam was just one little person
Who got caught up in this life's great pull and tear

Ol' Sam Brown, he liked them outlaws
Billie the Kid, Frank and Jessie James
And I guess he read a thousand stories
Of the days when they roamed the plains

Tell me why didn't someone help him
To believe in himself some, too?
Hell no, they'd rather give a man about a hundred years
Just to prove they can be tougher than you

Now, ol' Sam Brown died on a Sunday morning
Layin' right there in that cement cell
With ragged convicts to mourn his passin'
And no loved ones to bid farewell

They used to tell him, "Sam, straighten up and fly right"
They used to tell him, "Sam, don't you stay out late at night"

And why can't you be like I am, Sam?
Will you ever see the light?