IntroADEAVerse 1AD
I was just a kid roaming around
EA
Traveling thru a little old town
ADA man walked up and said come with me
AEA
Your broken son that's vagrancy
ADA care-free lad that loved to roam but
EA
Lord I wish I'd-a stayed at home
AD
The way it looks I'll probably hang
AEA
Cause there ain't no hope on a chain gang
ChorusDA
I dig that ditch I chop that corn
EA
I curse the day that I was born
AD
I believe it's better for a man to hang
DEA
Than to work like a dog on a chain gang
[Break 1
ADEAVerse 2AD
The guard stands there with a great big gun
EA
I bet he'd love to see me run
AD
And I guess I probably will someday
AEA
I'd rather be dead than to live this way
AD
He's well-fed and he's six-foot tall
EA
And he's the meanest of them all
AD
He cracks that whip and he swings that cane
AEA
That sun must've touched his brain
ChorusDA
I dig that ditch I chop that corn
EA
I curse the day that I was born
AD
I believe it's better for a man to hang
DEA
Than to work like a dog on a chain gang
[Break 2
ADEADEAVerse 3AD
I got a gal back home that's sweet and kind
EA
But she's been waiting a long long time
AD
I just told her to forget my name
AEA
I won't ever live down the shame
AD
Lord deliver me from his hole
EA
Before I lose my mind and soul
AD
The flesh gets weak and the back gets broke
AEA
There ain't no cause to laugh and joke
ChorusDA
I dig that ditch I chop that corn
EA
I curse the day that I was born
AD
I believe it's better for a man to hang
DEA
Than to work like a dog on a chain gang
EA
Work like a dog on a chain gang
EA
Work like a dog on a chain gang
This arrangement for the song is the author's own work and represents their interpretation of the song. You may only use this for private study, scholarship, or research.