[Chorus]
I never picked cotton
Like my mother did and my brother did and my sister did
And my daddy died young
Working in a coal mine

[Verse 1]
When I was just a baby
Too little for the cotton sack
I played in the dirt while the others worked
'Til they couldn't straighten up their backs
And I made myself a promise
When I was old enough to run
That I'd never stay a single day
In that Oklahoma sun

[Chorus]
And I never picked cotton
Like my mother did and my brother did and my sister did
And my daddy died young
Working in a coal mine

[Verse 2]
Folks said that I grew up early
And 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 legged girls and fun
I had everything that money could bring
And I took it all with a gun
[Chorus]
And I never picked cotton
Like my mother did and my brother did and my sister did
And my daddy died young
Working in a coal mine

[Verse 3]
It was Saturday night in Memphis
When a redneck grabbed my shirt
And he said, "Go back to your cotton sack"
I left him lying in the dirt
And they'll take me in the morning
To the gallows just outside
And in the time I got, there ain't a hell of a lot
I can look back on with pride

[Chorus]
But I never picked cotton
Like my mother did and my brother did and my sister did
And my daddy died young
Working in a coal mine
I never picked cotton
Like my mother did and my brother did and my sister did
And my daddy died young
Working in a coal mine