A
"I'm not in your town to stay,"
       A
said a lady old and gray
       E                       A
to the warden of the penitentiary
         A
"I'm not in your town to stay
         A
And I'll soon be on my way
    E                               A
I'm just here to get my baby out of jail
   D                E                           A
Oh warden, I'm just here to get my baby out of jail"

            A
"I tried to raise my baby right
       A
I have prayed both day and night
        E                                A
That he wouldn't follow footsteps of his dad
       A
I have searched both far and wide
      A
And I feared that he had died
       E                                A
But at last I've found my baby here in jail
   D          E                               A
Oh warden, at last I've found my baby here in jail"

A

        A
"It was just five years today
         A
When his daddy passed away
       E                                  A
He was found beneath the snow so cold and white
             A
T’was then I bowed to take his ring
        A
And his gold watch and his chain
         E                            A
Then the county laid his daddy in the grave
    D           E                            A
Yes warden, the county laid his daddy in the grave"

        A
"I will pawn you his watch
       A
I will pawn you his chain
       E                           A
I will pawn you my diamond wedding ring
       A
I will wash all your clothes
       A
I will scrub all your floors
   E                            A
If that will get my baby out of jail
    D          E                            A
Yes warden, if that will get my baby out of jail"

       A
Then I heard the warden say
       A
to the lady old and gray:
         E                               A
"I'll go bring your darling baby to your side"
         A
Two iron gates swung wide apart
             A 
She held her darling to her heart
    E                                A
She kissed her baby boy and then she died
    D            E                                A
But smiling, she kissed her baby boy and then she died

A E A

A E A

D E A

         A
"I'm not in your town to stay,"
       A
said a lady old and gray
          E                          A
"I'm just here to get my baby out of jail
    D                E                          A
Yes warden, I'm just here to get my baby out of jail"