Can you hear the whistle blowing'
Rolling around the bend
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 Antoine

When I was just a baby
My mama said
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 blowin'
I hang my head and cry
Well, there are rich people in there
In big fancy dining car
Bet they're drinkin' coffee
Smokin' big cigars
I guess I had it comin'
I know I can't be free
That train it keeps a-rollin'
And that's what tortures me

Well, if they freed me from this prison
If that railroad train was mine
I bet I'd move on
Farther down the line
Far from Folsom Prison
That's where I long to stay
And I'd let that lonesome whistle
Blow my blues away
I'd let that lonesome whistle
Blow my blues away