Chain Gang lyrics

(Huh, ah, huh)

I hear somethin' sayin',

"Uh, ah, uh, ah, uh, ah, uh, ah. . ."1

(And don't you know?)

That's the sound of the men

Working on the chain gang.2

That's the sound of the men

Working on the chain gang.

All day long they're sayin',

"Uh, ah, uh, ah, uh, ah, uh, ah. . ."

(Well don't you know?)

That's the sound of the men

Working on the chain gang.

That's the sound of the men

Working on the chain gang.

All day long they work so hard

'Til the sun is goin' down.

Working on the highways and byways

And wearing, wearing a frown.

You hear them moanin' their lives away

Then you hear somebody say,

"That's the sound of the men

Working on the chain gang.

That's the sound of the men

Working on the chain gang."

Can't ya hear them sayin'

"Mm, I'm goin' home one of these days.

I'm goin' home [to] see my woman,

Whom I love so dear,

But meanwhile, I've got to work right here."

(Don't you know?)

That's the sound of the men

Working on the chain gang.

That's the sound of the men

Working on the chain gang.

All day long they're sayin', hmm

"My, my, my, my, my, my, my, my,

My work is so hard.

Give me water; I'm thirsty.

My, my work is so hard.

Whoa my, my, my, my, my, my

My work is so hard.

Oh. . ."

1. These are not words. They are sounds which mimick the groaning and grunting of men working at hard labor.2. "A chain gang [was] a group of prisoners chained together to perform menial or physically challenging work as a form of punishment. Such punishment might include. . . .chipping rocks, digging ditches or other non-productive tasks." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chain_gang. Today it generally viewed as a cruel abuse of human rights.

• Artist:Sam Cooke