Lost John - Woody Guthrie

Gonna tell you the story

About old lost John

Lost John was a boy that got loose

From a chain gang down in Louisiana

About sixteen bloodhound, took in after him

Sheriffs, deputies

And everybody else in the county

Chasin' him all across the swamp

Lost John outrun the bloodhounds there

All night long, it was long towards mornin'

He looked up to the tree there

And seen the lights from a house

He didn’t know whether the people inside

Was friends or were enemies

So he wanted to go up to the house

So, and asked if he could stay there

To get away from the bloodhounds

He was afraid if he did go up there

That the people might set their dogs

Barking at him or shoot him down

With a Winchester riffle

This is the story about lost John

Old lost John ain’t lost no more