Songwriter: Louis Herscher & Saul Klein
Lyrics
[Verse]
I got rid of the shackles that bound me and the guards that were always around me
There were tears on the mail mother sent me in jail
But I’m free from the chain gang now
Back home I was known and respected then one day I was wrongly suspected
So they put me in chains in a cold freezing rain but I’m free from the chain gang now
All the years I was known by a number how I kept my mind is a wonder
But like a bird in a tree I got my liberty and I’m free from the chain gang now
I got rid of the shackles that bound me and the guards that were always around me
There were tears on the mail mother sent me in jail
But I’m free from the chain gang now
There were tears on the mail mother wrote me in jail
But I’m free from the chain gang now