Ol' Sam Brown was a lonesome convict He came from a Red River town And there ain't no two ways about it It was Texas laws that shot Sam down Ol' Sam Brown told me his story It seems a bad check writer was he Seven times down and seven times sorry He had to spend his life under lock and key I guess that some will say he was worthless And that he got only what was fair But I'm here to say right now ol' Sam was just one little person Who got caught up in this life's great pull and tear ♪ Ol' Sam Brown, he liked them outlaws Billie the Kid, Frank and Jessie James And I guess he read a thousand stories Of the days when they roamed the plains Tell me why didn't someone help him To believe in himself some, too? Hell no, they'd rather give a man about a hundred years Just to prove they can be tougher than you ♪ Now, ol' Sam Brown died on a Sunday morning Layin' right there in that cement cell With ragged convicts to mourn his passin' And no loved ones to bid farewell They used to tell him, "Sam, straighten up and fly right" They used to tell him, "Sam, don't you stay out late at night" And why can't you be like I am, Sam? Will you ever see the light?