I got rid of the shackles that bound me
And the guards that were always around me
There were tears on the mail mother wrote me in jail
But I'm free from the chain gang now

All the years I was known and respected
'Til one day I was wrongly suspected
I was shacked in chains in the 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