[Verse 1]
Don't talk crooked, honey, walk the straight and narrow
My mama tried to teach me the rules
She said, "If Jesus himself keeps his eye upon the sparrow
Then surely, he is watching you, too"
Twenty-one years young, I rolled to hell's half-acre
I really got to kickin' up ground
I was a mover and a shaker, a mean heartbreaker
Now it's all comin' back around

[Chorus]
Tell ya, it's a hard livin'
Broke down on the highway
Burned out in an ashtray
Hard livin'
Empty as a bottle
Right down to the bottom
It's a hard livin'
Singin' hallelujah, may I introduce ya
To ex-con, little old me

[Verse 2]
Tangled and torn, I was trapped like a rabbit
Thought the only crime was gettin' caught
Now that I'm dressed in stripes, me and all my bad habits
We got the time to give it some thought
Livin' in the past has been a full-time occupation
I got a thing for talkin' to ghosts
Never movin' on can take an awful lot of patience
And I'm a girl who's had the most
[Chorus]
Tell ya, it's a hard livin'
Broke down on the highway
Burned out in an ashtray
Hard livin'
Empty as a bottle
Right down to the bottom
It's a hard livin'
Singin' hallelujah, may I introduce ya
To ex-con, little old me
Singin' hallelujah, may I introduce ya
To ex-con, little old me

[Bridge]
Armed robbery and a high-speed chase
The late night TV news anchors loved my face
I served my time, but now the time has come
For me to get back in my mama's good grace
It's a hard livin'
It's a hard livin', oh-oh-oh
Tell ya, it's a hard livin'
Tell ya, it's a hard livin'

[Chorus]
Tell ya, it's a hard livin'
Broke down on the highway
Burned out in an ashtray
Hard livin'
Empty as a bottle
Right down to the bottom
It's a hard livin'
Singin' hallelujah, may I introduce ya
To ex-con, little old me
Singin' hallelujah, may I introduce ya
To ex-con, little old me