Digital Tradition Mirror

The Durant Jail

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Pennywhistle notation and Dulcimer tab for this song is also available

The Durant Jail

The Durant jail beats no jail at all,
If you want to catch hell go to  Wichita Falls.

cho: It's hard times in the Durant jail,
     It's hard times, poor boy.

There's a big bull ring in the middle of the floor,
And a damned old jailer to open the door.

Your pockets he'll  pick, your clothes he will sell,
Your hands he will handcuff, Goddam him to hell!

It's both of my feet bound in the cell,
My hands tied behind, Goddam him to hell!

And here's to the cook, I wish he was dead,
It's old boiled beef and old corn bread.

The chuck they give us is beef and corn bread,
As old as hell and as heavy as lead.

We pop it down in us within our cells,
Just like the pop from heaven to hell.

The coffee is rough and the yard is full of hogs,
And we are guarded by two bulldogs.

No longer than yesterday I heard the jailer say,
He was feeding the prisoners at two dollars a day.

The times are hard at such poor pay,
He couldn't feed 'em grub but two times a day.

Our bed is made of old rotten rugs;
When we lay down we are all covered with bugs;

And the bugs they swear if we don't give bail,
We are bound to get lousy in the Tucson jail.

The nits and the lice climb in the jist,
One fell down and hollered "Jesus Christ!"

I said, "Mister jailer, please led me your knife,
For the lice and the bedbugs have threatened my life."

Old Judge Simpkins will read us the law,
The damnedest fool judge you ever saw.

From Cowboy Songs, Lomax
Note: also Cryderville Jail etc.
RG

Thanks to Mudcat for the Digital Tradition!