Johnny Cash

Lyrics, as written and originally performed (not by Cash)

There's a lot of strange men in cell block ten,
But the strangest of them all,
Was a friend of mine who spent his time,
Just starin' at the wall...,
Starin' at the wall.…

In his hand was a note that his gal had wrote,
Proving crime don't pay,
Was the very same gal he robbed and stole for,
namin' the wedding day, namin' her wedding day.…

As he looked at the wall,
So strong and tall,
I heard him softly curse,
Nobody at all ever climbed that wall,
But I'm gonna be the first...,
Yeah, I'm gonna be the first.…

The warden walked by and said, “Son don't try,”
I would hate to see you fall,
There is no doubt they will carry you out,
If you ever touch that wall...,
So never touch that wall.…

Well a year’s gone by since he made his try,
But I can still recall,
How hard he tried and the way he died,
But he never made that wall...,
No, he never made that wall.…

Well there's never been a man ever shook this can,
But I knew a man who tried,
The newspapers called it a jailbreak plan,
But I know it was suicide...,
I know it was suicide.…