They kept my dad in the Macon jail
Dad said son if you keep your hands clean
You won't hear them bloodhounds on your trail

But I fell in with bad companions
We robbed a man in Tennessee
The sheriff caught me way up in Nashville
They locked me up and threw away the key

I asked the jailor when's my time up
He said son we won't forget
And if you try to keep your hands clean
We may make a good man of you yet

I couldn't wait to do my sentence
I broke out of the Nashville jail
I just crossed the line of Georgia
And I can hear them bloodhounds on my trail

I washed my hands in muddy water
I washed my hands but they didn't come clean
I tried to do like Daddy told me
But I must have washed my hands in a muddy stream

Yes I must have washed my hands in a muddy stream