I Never Picked Cotton

I never picked cotton

But my mother did

And my brother did

And my sister did

And my daddy died young

Workin' in the coal mine

When I was just a baby

Too little for a cotton sack

I played in the dirt

While the others worked

'Til they couldn't straighten up their backs

I made myself a promise

When I was big enough to run

That I'd never stay a single day

In that Oklahoma sun

I never picked cotton

But my mother did

And my brother did

And my sister did

And my daddy died young

Workin' in the coal mine

Folks said I grew up early

And that the farm couldn't hold me then so

I stole ten bucks and a pickup truck

And I never went back again

Then it was fast cars and whiskey

Long haired girls and fun

I had everything that money could bring

And I took it all with a gun

I never picked cotton

But my mother did

And my brother did

And my sister did

And my daddy died young

Workin' in the coal mine

It was Saturday night in Memphis

When a redneck grabbed my shirt

When he said "Go back to your cotton sack"

I left him dying in the dirt

They'll take me in the morning

To the gallos just outside

And in the time I got

There ain't a hell of a lot

That I can look back on with pride

I never picked cotton

But my mother did

And my brother did

And my sister did

And my daddy died young

Workin' in the coal mine