Lyrics

I was standin' beside the road in Blackjack County Not knowing the sheriff paid a bounty For men like me who didn't have a penny to our names So he locked my leg to thirty-five pounds of Blackjack County chain And all we had to eat was bread and water And each day we had to build that road a mile and a quarter A black snake whip would cut our backs if some poor fool complained And you couldn't fight back wearin' thirty-five pounds of Blackjack County chain And then one night when the sheriff was a-sleepin' We gathered all around him slowly creepin' Heaven help me to forget that night in the cold, cold rain When we beat him to death with thrity-five pounds of Blackjack County chain Now the whip marks have all healed and I am thankful That there's nothing but these scars around my ankles But most of all I'm glad no man will be a slave again To a black snake whip and thirty-five pounds of Blackjack County chain To a black snake whip and thirty-five pounds of Blackjack County chain Blackjack County chain