I was born in Macon, Georgia

They kept my dad in the Macon jail

Dad said son if you keep your hands clean

You won't hear them bloodhounds on your trail



But I fell in with bad companions

We robbed a man in Tennessee

The sheriff caught me way up in Nashville

They locked me up and threw away the key



I asked the jailor when's my time up

He said son we won't forget

And if you try to keep your hands clean

We may make a good man of you yet



I couldn't wait to do my sentence

I broke out of the Nashville jail

I just crossed the line of Georgia

And I can hear them bloodhounds on my trail



I washed my hands in muddy water

I washed my hands but they didn't come clean

I tried to do like Daddy told me

But I must have washed my hands in a muddy stream



Yes I must have washed my hands in a muddy stream