Johnny Cash — I Never Picked Cotton

[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