I Never Picked Cotton

I never picked cotton

But my mother did and my brother did

And my sister did and my daddy died young

Working in the coal mines

When I was just a baby too little for a cotton sack

I played in the dirt while the others worked 'til they couldn't straighten up their backs

I made myself a promise when I was big enough to run

That I'd never stay a single day in that Oklahoma sun

And I never picked cotton

But my mother did and my brother did

And my sister did and my daddy died young

Working in the coal mines

Folks said I grew up early and that the farm couldn't hold me then

So I stole ten bucks and a pickup truck, and I never went back again

And it was fast cars and whiskey long haired girls and fun

I had everything that money could bring, and I took it all with a gun

But I never picked cotton

But my mother did and my brother did

And my sister did and my daddy died young

Working in the coal mines

Well, it was Saturday night in Memphis when a redneck grabbed my shirt

And when he said, "Go back to your cotton sack", I left him dying 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 that I can look back on with pride

But I never picked cotton

But my mother did and my brother did

And my sister did and I'll never die young

Working in the coal mines

And I'll never pick cotton

But my mother did and my brother did

And my sister did and I'll never die young

Working in the coal mines