I call out, “Warden,
Have I yet served my time?
There’s a new day coming
And I’d like to feel fine.”
But the Warden just leers
As if I’ve made a joke.
Declares, “You’ll do what I allow
When I say so.”

Been in this cell of mine
Since I was born
And it ain’t always hurt like this.
It’s only gettin’ worse as I grow old
And I never know
What I might have to miss.

I call out, “Warden,
Have I yet served my time?
There’s a new day coming
And I’d like to feel fine.”
But the Warden just leers
As if I’ve made a joke.
Declares, “You’ll do what I allow
When I say so.”

The Warden decides my every move,
What I can eat,
Where I can go.
Serving a sentence,
The Warden sets the terms.
How it’ll be, I never know.

I call out, “Warden,
Have I yet served my time?
There’s a new day coming
And I’d like to feel fine.”
But the Warden just leers
As if I’ve made a joke.
Declares, “You’ll do what I allow
When I say so.”