It was December the sixth 1983 
I was doin' time for armed robbery 
At four in the morning, I was sitting in my cell 
I heard a whistle blow, and I heard somebody yell 

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

Our warden [bad word] out with your hands up in the air 
If you don't stop this riot you're all gonna get the chair 
And Scarface Jones said It's too late to quit 
Pass the dynamite, don't you give me any [bad word] 

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

On the 47th hour the nerve gas got our men 
We're all back in our cells but every now and then 

There's a riot going on 
There's a riot going on 
There's a riot going on 
Up in cellblock number nine 
Up in cellblock number nine 
Up in cellblock number nine