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