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

When I was just a baby Too little for a cotton sack I played in the dirt While the others worked 'Til they couldn't straighten up their backs I made myself a promise When I was big enough to run That I'd never stay a single day In that Oklahoma sun

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

Folks said I grew up early And that the farm couldn't hold me then so I stole ten bucks and a pickup truck And I never went back again Then it was fast cars and whiskey Long haired girls and fun I had everything that money could bring And I took it all with a gun

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

It was Saturday night in Memphis When a redneck grabbed my shirt When he said go back to your cotton sack I left him dying in the dirt They'll take me in the morning To the gallos just outside And in the time I got There ain't a hell of alot That I can look back on with pride

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