Compositor: Lee Hazlewood
You were born by a railroad track
Never knew your ma and your pa ain't comin' back
Had to make your way the best you can
But you didn't have to steal from another man
Run boy run boy run boy run they're gonna get you boy run boy run
They're gonna catch you boy run boy run run boy run boy run boy run
Think you're a man cause you're twenty one
Shot a man for nothin' and away you run
Wanted in most every state from here to Tennessee
If you're caught you'll do your runnin' hangin' from a tree
Run boy run boy run boy run...
Storm clouds lookin' down from the sky
And hangman's noose swingin' on a tree near by
The words on that tombstone that won't be read by you
Says his runnin's done at twenty one he won't see twenty two
Run boy run boy run boy run...
**********
(I don't know whether you'll believe this or not
But we have two brothers in Trouble who're thievinist sneakinist
Well just down right crookedest people you'd ever wanna meet
Now of course that may not be too hard to believe
But when Orville and George Dobkins that's the two brothers steal somethin'
They didn't steal from none of us they steal from each other
That's right they steal from each other have each other arrested and put in jail
Now Orville's been in jail well twelve times
And George well George has been in eleven in fact he's still in
Now the other day I saw Orville on the street
And after we got thru with our howdy's I aked him how George was
He kinda smiled and scratched the hammer holder on his overalls
And said he guessed he's okay
Then I said you know Orville it seems an awful shame
For you and your brother to be stealin' from each other all the time
Havin' each other arrested spendin' all that time in jail
You must feel kinda bad with your brother all locked up in jail
And you out here free as a bird
Well Orville kinda grinned and said it ain't so bad he can do anything he wants to do)