Got out of prison back in '86 and I found a wife Walked the clean and narrow Just tryin' to stay out and stay alive Got a job at the rendering plant, it ain't gonna make me rich In the darkness before dinner comes Sometimes I can feel the itch I got a cold mind to go tripping across that thin line I'm sick of doin straight time
My uncle's at the evenin' table, makes his living runnin' hot cars Slips me a hundred dollar bill says Charlie you best remember who your friend are.
Got a cold mind to go tripping 'cross that thin line I ain't makin' straight time
Eight years in it feels Iike your gonna die But you get used to anything Sooner or later it just becomes your life
Kitchen floor in the evening tossin' my little babies high Mary's smilin' but she's watching me out of the corner of her eye Seems you can't get any more than half free I step out onto the front porch and suck the cold air deep inside of me Got a cold mind to go tripping 'cross that thin line
I'm sick of doin' straight time
In the basement, huntin' gun and a hacksaw Sip a beer, and thirteen inches of barrel drop to the floor
Come home in the evening, can't get the smell from my hands Lay my head down on the pillow And, go driftin' off into foreign lands
