I was born in Macon, Georgia
They kept my dad in the Macon jail
He said son, "if you keep your hands clean"
You won't hear those bloodhounds on your trail
But I fell in with bad companions
I robbed a man in South Tennessee
Well they caught me way up in Nashville
They locked me up and threw anyway the key

And I washed my hands in muddy water
Yeah I washed my hands but they didn't come clean
I tried to do what my daddy told me
But I must of washed my hands in a muddy stream

Well I could not wait to get my time done
So I broke out of the Nashville jail
And I just crossed the state line to Georgia
And I can hear them big bad bloodhounds on my trail

And I washed my hands in muddy water
Yeah I washed my hands But they didn't come clean
I tried to do what my daddy told me
But I must of washed my hands in a muddy stream

Yes I must have washed my hands in a muddy stream