deep in the swampland, louisiana, under the gun where i fall.
doing hard time in the penitentiary... prisons are built with stones of law.

don t keep me locked down behind this steel where i hide
i want to play the blues i feel on the outside.
i see my freedom, and i see the way.

when i pulled my knife, tried to take his life,
don t you know i was three sheets to the wind...
so i pulled my knife, tried to take his life.
now i play the blues to reconcile my sin.

i said, waiting for you to set me free.
i said, wait, wait, waiting for a life of liberty.

don t keep me locked down. strip off these shackles of mine.
my voice is raging for mercy, lessen my time!
i see my freedom, and my sins, they seem so far away.

don t try to save my soul. put me on parole.
behind these four walls, don t you leave me be.
don t try to save my soul. put me on parole.
when i wake up, i want to be free.

i said, waiting for you to set me free.
i said, wait, wait, waiting for a life of liberty.
cause i want to see the world from outside.

deep in the swampland, louisiana, under the gun where i fall.
please, please governor, set leadbelly free... prisons are built with stones of law.

don t keep me locked down. wake up to a cold cell so dim,
my fingers bloody and torn from the labour within.
i see my freedom, and my sins, they seem so far away.

tried to walk that way. tried to walk that way.
i got arrested, convicted, and confined.
tried to walk that way. tried to walk that way.
don t you know i fell off that narrow line...

i said, waiting for you to set me free.
i said, wait, wait. freedom! freedom! freedom! freedom!!
cause i want to see the world from outside.