Knoxville Courthouse Blues

Lyrics

[Verse 1] I'm sittin' in Knoxville courthouse Ain't got a thing to do I don't wanna go to the movies Couldn't if I wanted to 'Cause I'm on trial for lovin' you [Verse 2] Now this all started in a honky tonk Just the other side of town A girl come in took a stool by me Ordered gin and drank it down She lit up a cigarette, and turned around [Verse 3] Well she said, "My name is Janie" And asked me, "What was mine?" I answers "Hank" as I walked to the jukebox Drop in a dime And looked at her short dress, no neck line [Verse 4] Well, we danced for five or ten minutes And I held hеr close to me Kissed hеr lips and squeezed her hips And judged about twenty-three She whispered in my ears, I said, "Yes, siree" [Verse 5] Now the scene is a little motel Out on the state highway And there in room 12 Love is about to take place And a state trooper breaks down the door Shines a flashlight in my face [Verse 6] I said, "What the hell is this?" As another man and woman come in And the girl I'm with starts cryin' and screamin' And she runs over to them She said, "Thank God you're here, he tried to hurt me, mama" I said, "Now, you don't mean?" The cop says, "Yeah, the girl is seventeen" [Verse 7] So that's why I'm in Knoxville courthouse And the judge passed the sentence on me And it's ten long years for statutory rape in the state penitentiary Lord, I can't believe this has happened to me [Verse 8] So when next time you give a girl the eye She gives you that certain smile Just remember under that woman's breast May beat the heart of a child Don't you let yourself be the one to help a mixed up kid go wild This story happened a lot, that's true But you better hope and pray it never happens to you