On July the second
Nineteen and fifty-three
I was serving time in Tahatchopee
Four o'clock in the morning

I was sleepin' in my cell
I heard a whistle blow
And I heard somebody yell

"There's a riot goin' on"
(There's a riot goin' on)
"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 all started up in cell block number four
It spread like fire across the prison floor
Warden came in with a big tommy gun
Bang bang bang, tryin' to stop our fun

But there's a riot goin' on
(There's a riot goin' on)
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, [bad word] out
With your hands up in the air
You don't stop this riot
You're all gonna get the chair"

Two gun Mathilda said
"It's too late to quit
Pass the dynamite, Molly
'Cause, man, this fuse is lit"

And there's a riot goin' on
(There's a riot goin' on)
There's a riot goin' on
(There's a riot goin' on)

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

They called the state militia
To help them win the fight
Drove up to the prison
In the middle of the night

Each and every trooper
He looked so tall and fine
All the chicks went crazy
Up in cell block number nine

But there's a riot goin' on
(There's a riot goin' on)
There's a riot goin' on
(There's a riot goin' on)

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