Waylon Jennings - There Ain't No Good Chain Gang

It's not technically true that "He needed killin'" is a valid legal defense. Even in Texas. Even for Roman Polanski. But Country Music - especially Outlaw Country Music - has a thing or two to say about justice.

Waylon Jennings pretty much defined Outlaw Country Music (the name came from a small group of musicians who were working pretty much outside the normal Nashville record labels in the 1970s). Along with Willie Nelson, he was one of the first artists to seize creative control from the studios.

Dodging bullets was one of Jenning's trademarks. He gave up his seat on Buddy Holly's last flight to the Big Bopper. Maybe after something like that, you just wouldn't be scared by very much.

This is a song about what happens when you live too far over the Outlaw line. The song may not have a pickup truck, but it has momma and a chain gang, so it has to be Country.



There Ain't No Good Chain Gang (songwriters: Hal Bynum, Dave Kirby)

Bet it ain't raining back home
Bet your sister's still on the phone
Bet Momma's in the kitchen, cooking fried chicken
Wishing that I hadn't done wrong.

Yeah, Momma, don't you worry about it none though
Everything's gonna be all right, Momma
They're teaching

us a lot of new things in here Momma
Things like.

There ain't no good in an evil-hearted woman
And I ain't cut out to be no Jesse James
And you don't go writing hot checks down in Mississippi
And there ain't no good chain gang.

Papa's reading yesterday's mail
Wishing that the hay was all baled
I bet he's a-wishing we could go fishing

And here I am a-laying in jail.

Well, Papa, don't you worry about it none now
Everything's gonna be all right, Papa
They're teaching us a lesson a day we're learning pretty well too
We've already learned a whole lot of stuff already
Things like.

There ain't no good in an evil-hearted woman
And I ain't cut out to be no Jesse James
And you don't go writing hot checks down in Mississippi
And there ain't no good chain gang.