i was born in macon georgia they kept my daddy over in macon jail he told me if you keep your hands clean you won t hear them bloodhounds on your trail well i fell in with bad companions robbed a man oh up in tennessee they caught me way up in nashville they locked me up and threw away the key i washed my hands in muddy water washed my hands but they didn t come clean tried to do what my daddy told me but i must have washed my hands in a muddy stream well i asked the judge now when s my time up he said son oh you know we won t forget if you try just to keep your hands clean we might just make a good man of you yet oh i couldn t wait to get my time up i broke out broke out of nashville jail i just crossed the state line of georgia well i can hear those bloodhounds on my trail 