Lyrics:

On July the second, nineteen fifty-three
I was servin' time for armed robbery
Four o'clock in the mornin', I was sleepin' in my cell
I heard the whistle blow, I heard somebody yell

There's a riot goin' on
There's a riot goin' on
There's a riot goin' on yeah
Up in cell block number 9

The trouble started in cell block number 4
And spread like fire across the prison floor
I said, 'Come on boys, get ready to roll
Here comes the warden with a tommy gun'

There's a riot goin' on
There's a riot goin' on
There's a riot goin' on yeah
Up in cell block number 9

The warden says 'Come out and put your hands up in the air
If ya don't stop the riot, y'all gonna get the chair'
Scarface Jones said 'It's too late to quit'
'And pass the dynamite 'cause the fuse is lit'

There's a riot goin' on
There's a riot goin' on
There's a riot goin' on yeah
Up in cell block number 9

The 92nd hour, the tear gas got our men
We're back in our cells
But every now and then

There's a riot goin' on
There's a riot goin' on
There's a riot goin' on babe
Up in cell block number 9