Lyrics:

I was sittin' beside the road in Blackjack County

Not knowing that the sheriff paid a bounty

For men like me who didn't have a penny to their names

So he locked my leg to thirty-five pounds of Blackjack County chain



All we had to eat was bread and water

Each day we had to build that road a mile and a quarter

Black sneak whip would cut our backs when some poor fool complained

But we couldn't fight back wearin' 35 pounds of Blackjack County chain



And then one night while the sheriff was a sleepin'

We all gathered round him slowly creepin'

And heaven help me to forget that night in the cold cold rain

When we beat him death with thirty-five pounds of Blackjack County chain



Now the whip marks have all healed and I am thankful

That there's nothing but a scar round my ankle

Most of all I'm glad no man will be a slave again

To a black sneak whip and thirty-five pounds of Blackjack County chain

To a black sneak whip and thirty-five pounds of Blackjack County chain

[ guitar ]