Back in 1953, we stole a car old Merle and me
Never thinking wed be put in jail
You might say that we were green, I was barely seventeen
When they put those bars between old Merle and me

Late one night we hit the wall, twenty feet we had to fall
To the ground where we could craw into the weeds
Waiting for that shotgun blast, never thinking we could last
We sure had to grow up fast, old Merle and me

We were young and crazy then, it was easy to pretend
Acting like wed never been in reform school
Looking danger in the eye, walking with our heads held high
We were not afraid to die, old Merle and me

We were living by the gun, never caring what wed done
Swearing it was all just fun and games you know
We would die and go to hell before we broke our vow to tell
How we escaped that prison cell, old Merle and me

How was Merle or me to know, we would end up on death row
Waiting for our turn in the electric chair
Shot down in a grocery store, we got busted at the door
Praying wasn't easy for old Merle and me