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

Then 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