(Spoken)
Well, theyre hanging joe bean this morning for shooting a man down in arkansas.
Funny thing is, joe bean's never been to arkansas.
On top of that, joe bean never even heard of the man.
In fact, today is joe's twentieth birthday.

See through the prison bars joe bean
See where the gallows stand
Just twenty short years from the day you were born
You died by the hangman's hand

They're hanging joe bean this morning
For a shooting that he never did
He killed twenty men by the time he was ten
He was an unruly kid

Yes, theyre hanging joe bean for the one shooting
That joe bean never did

(Spoken)
Well joe, your mother's at the capitol, asking the governer for a stay.
And it's hard on her, because she knows
Where you were on that particular day.

You were working joe bean, hard working
Robbing the santa fe

Well the telegraph wires are humming
Hear the governor's words come through
He said I can't set you free, its not up to me,
But this much joe bean, I'll do:

I'll join your mother in extending birthday greetings to you
Happy birthday joe bean