I was standin' beside the road in Blackjack County
Not knowing the sheriff paid a bounty
For men like me who didn't have a penny to our names
So he locked my leg to thirty-five pounds of Blackjack County chain

And all we had to eat was bread and water
And each day we had to build that road a mile and a quarter
A black snake whip would cut our backs if some poor fool complained
And you couldn't fight back wearin' thirty-five pounds of Blackjack County chain

And then one night when the sheriff was a-sleepin'
We gathered all around him slowly creepin'
Heaven help me to forget that night in the cold, cold rain
When we beat him to death with thrity-five pounds of Blackjack County chain

Now the whip marks have all healed and I am thankful
That there's nothing but these scars around my ankles
But most of all I'm glad no man will be a slave again
To a black snake whip and thirty-five pounds of Blackjack County chain
To a black snake whip and thirty-five pounds of Blackjack County chain
Blackjack County chain