Riot in Cell Block No. 9

On July the second, 1953
I was serving time for armed robbery
At four o'clock in the morning, I was sleeping in my cell
I heard a whistle blow, then I heard somebody yell

There's a riot goin' on
There's a riot goin' on
There's a riot goin' on
Up in cell block number nine

The trouble started in cell block number four
It spread like fire across the prison floor
I said, "Okay, boys, get ready to run
Here come the warden with a tommy gun"

There's a riot goin' on
There's a riot goin' on
There's a riot goin' on
Up in cell block number nine

The warden said, "Come out with your hands up in the air
If you don't stop this riot, you all gonna get the chair"
Scarface Jones said, "It's too late to quit
Pass the dynamite 'cause the fuse is lit"

There's a riot goin' on
There's a riot goin' on
There's a riot goin' on
Up in cell block number nine

In the forty-seventh hour, the tear gas got our men
We're all back in our cells, but every now and then

There's a riot goin' on
There's a riot goin' on
There's a riot goin' on
Up in cell block number nine