(yodelahee...)
Left my gal in the mountains
Left her standing in the rain
Went down to the railroad
Caught myself a midnight train
Lead my way to Georgia
Landed in a gambling town
Got myself into trouble
And shot a county sheriff down
The jury read the verdict
Murder in the first degree
The judge said: take this prisoner
To the penitentiary
They put the handcuffs on me
Put me on a prison train
Took me to A'lanta
And tied me with the ball and chain
(yodelahee...)
Left my gal in the mountains
Left her waitin' all alone
Last night I dreamed I got a letter
Saying: honey, won't you come home?
She said, she was sad and lonely
Told me that her love was true
Then I dreamed I wrote a letter
Sayin': honey, I'm coming back to you
Then I woke up this morning
Lyin' in Atlanta jail
No one here to love me
No one to go my bail
That prison was all around me
I got walkin' by the door
My sweetheart is sad and lonely
Cause I'll never see my gal no more