Man, the meanest bastard I've ever seen Was that old man of mine The back of his hand and a little Jim Beam Kept us all in line My poor mama lived in fear Damn near all the time The Lord says we all got a cross to bear That old man was mine It didn't take much to piss him off And he'd be on the tear I'm still haunted by the bruises We all had to wear Well, late one evenin' on a cold dark night I heard my mama cry Everything inside me Just wanted him to die Well, I called him out and said, "I've had enough Let's settle this outside" He said, "Son, you think you're tough Had this comin' for a long, long time" He got both hands around my throat Was chokin' me to death Well, I saw evil in his eyes And smelled the devil's breath And one thing he never thought about That pistol in my jeans I put every bullet in him That night in Abilene Mama lied and said she did it But on the Bible, she came clean And every night she prays for me From cell block seventeen ♪ I wear this number on my back It suits me just fine God knows he had it comin' It's worth the ninety-nine I never have felt guilty Not one single time The Lord says we all got a cross to bear That old man was mine Yeah, the Lord says we all got a cross to bear That old man was mine