Lyrics Life of a Prisoner (Live) - Johnny Cash

He drinks a cup of coffee
And way before the sun
He′s up and goin'
Out on a work detail
′Cause he knows soon
The morning whistle will begin to blowin'
All day out in that hot sun
With no reward for any work he'll do
And then he′ll come back in the evenin′
And dream a lot of dreams that can't come true
This is the life of a prisoner
Forgotten man that′s there to stay
He lives on faith and hope and courage
And a few old dreams of yesterday
Well, no one cares about him
Or it seems that way to him
As time goes by
One day is like the other
And everytime he prays
He prays to die
He's been there for so long now
He wouldn′t know how to talk to men outside
And though it's the life he lives for
He fears the day the gates swing open wide
This is the life of a prisoner
Forgotten man that′s there to stay
He lives on faith and hope and courage
And a few old dreams of yesterday
He lives on faith and hope and courage
And a few old dreams of yesterday