(Leiber/Stoller)



On July second, 1953,

I was serving time for armed robbery

'Bout four in the morning

I was sleepin' in my cell

I heard a whistle blow

I heard somebody yell



There's a riot goin' on

There's a riot goin' on

There's a riot goin' on

Up in cell block number nine



The trouble started in cell block no. 4

It spread like fire across the prison floor

I said "Come on boys, get ready to run -

Here comes the warden with a tommy gun"



There's a riot goin' on

There's a riot goin' on

There's a riot goin' on

Up in cell block number nine



The warden said

"Come out with your hands up in the air

If you don't stop this riot (or: You gonna start a riot ???)

You're all gonna get the chair"

Scarface Jones said, "It's too late to quit

And pass the dynamite, 'cause the fuse is lit"



There's a riot goin' on

There's a riot goin' on

There's a riot goin' on

Up in cell block number nine



The ninety-second hour

The tear gas got our men

Crawled in our cells

But every now and then...



There's a riot goin' on

There's a riot goin' on

There's a riot goin' on

Up in cell block number nine