Jimmy Stokes came from Alabam' With just the shirt on his back But with a big determination To make it big and never come back He said goodbye to his girl Sue And left the farm to see what he could do Came east to the big, hard city Saw the sights, lord have pity
Every move he made seemed to be right Made some good friends, he became tight Always played it cool, he was never a bore Kept his eyes open always knowin' the score He waited for his break and took his prize And as you would assume, he was on the rise And with a little help from his friends Jimmy became a business head
Now Jimmy Stokes he was selling cokes And all the pretty ladies in town He ran his business and was discreet Paid every cop on his beat He rides a big, custom-tone, purple Cadillac With his name written on the back If you can't get it and you don't know All you have to do is ask Jimmy Stokes
Pretty soon power went to his head He started to treat his friends bad One night while a big bash at his pad A knock on the door, the F.B.I. said 'Come on Jimmy let's go back to Alabama With a ball and chain doin' time in the hole You are on the chain Come on Jimmy'