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