with a worn out wheel and a low down load I broke down I'd be there still but I had enough speed to make it over the hill I crossed the ridge over the top
Seen a two log bridge with no time to stop I can't turn close I can't turn wide So I left my body on the other side
I walked forty miles of red hot clay
seen Diablo along the way Diggin' a grave with a pick and a shovel I said " I got no sympathy for you devil!" I drink my liquor from an old fruit jar
I made a banjo from a old ham can Goin' straight to hell as fast as I can I'd rather be a possum that a po' whiteman I walked forty miles to the old crossroads
Tried to buy back my soul Bet it all on just one roll Seen a pair of snake eyes lookin' cold When you lose it's only fair
The lord don't hear no gambler's prayer Go tell it on the mountain now have you heard Hell broke loose devil's outta work I walked throught the cactus to find a rose
For my baby sweet and cold Six foot down and on her way To meet St. Peter at the gates....
I walked forty miles of mountain road
to sooth my temper sooth my soul Forty miles of mountain road