July the second, it was nineteen sixty-three I was servin’ time for armed robbery Four o’clock in the mornin’, I was layin’ back in my cell I heard the whistle blow then I heard somebody yell There’s a riot goin’ on There’s a riot goin’ on There’s a riot goin’ on Down in cell block number 9 The riot started down in cell block number 4 Spread like wild fire across the prison floor Scar-face Jones said, “It’s too late to quit” Pass the dynamite ‘cause the fuse is lit There’s a riot goin’ on There’s a riot goin’ on There’s a riot goin’ on Down in cell block number 9 Y’all gotta stop that stuff goin’ on over there If ya don’t stop that riot, y’all gonna get the chair I said, “Hey now boys, get ready to run Heree the warden with an automatic gun” There’s a riot goin’ on There’s a riot goin’ on There’s a riot goin’ on Down in cell block number 9 In the forty-seventh hour the tear gas It got our men We are all back in our cells But every now and then There’s a riot goin’ on There’s a riot goin’ on There’s a riot goin’ on Down in cell block number 9