[Verse]
They tied me up and they sent me down,
They dragged me away from my hometown,
Money got scarce when the work shut down,
And I fought to make a living.

I loved a woman and she loved me back,
We tried to stay in the middle of the track,
To many taker on my back,
Nobody giving.

[Chorus]
Well I never chose to live this way,
You're a liar if you say I did,
It's not easy being poor but it wasn't for the law,
I'd just find something else instead.

[Verse]
Now things are bad when I couldn't get a start,
They tore my life and my home apart,
There's more to love than this broken heart,
And a lot I'd like to mention.

I spend my days in the prison yard,
My lonely nights behind different bars,
Count the footsteps and the stars,
In the years of my detention.

[Chorus]
I never chose to live this way,
You're a liar if you say I did,
It's not easy being poor but it wasn't for the law,
I'd just find something else instead.

[Verse]
There's no such thing as right or wrong,
It's not that black or white,
Well it isn't just the prisoner
Who doesn't sleep at night.

Now times are hard at the bottom of the mine
But there ain't no work like doing time,
Babies cry and the engines whine
And the devil pays the wages.

I've done some things that I can't forget,
I've done some things that I don't regret,
I might go straight but I wouldn't like to bet,
Cause I've been through my back pages.

[Chorus]
Well I never chose to live this way,
You're a liar if you say I did,
It's not easy being poor but it wasn't for the law,
I'd just find something else instead.

[Chorus]
Well I never chose to live this way,
You're a liar if you say I did,
It's not easy being poor but it wasn't for the law,
I'd just find something else instead.