I never picked cotton
But my mother did
And my brother did
And my sister did
And my daddy died young
Workin' in a coal mine

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

And I never picked cotton
Like my mother did
And my brother did
And my sister did
And my daddy died young
Workin' in a coal mine

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

And I never picked cotton
Like my mother did
And my brother did
And my sister did
And my daddy died young
Workin' in a coal mine

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

But I never picked cotton
Like my mother did
And my brother did
And my sister did
And my daddy died young
Workin' 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
Workin' in a coal mine