Lyrics Walls Of Red Wing - Ramblin' Jack Elliott, John Prine

Walls Of Red Wing

Oh, the age of the inmates
I remember quite freely:
No younger than twelve
No older 'n seventeen
Thrown in like bandits
Cast off like criminals
Inside the grounds
Around the walls of Red Wing
From the dirty old mess hall
You marched to that brick wall
Too weary to talk
And too tired to sing
Oh, it’s all afternoon
You remember your home town
Inside the grounds
Around the walls of Red Wing
Oh, the gates are cast iron
And the walls are barbed wire
Stay far from the fence
With the electricity sting
And it’s keep down your head
And stay in your number
On the inside grounds
Around the walls of Red Wing
Oh, it’s fare-thee-well
To the deep hollow dungeon
Farewell to the board-walk
That takes you to the screen
And farewell to the minutes
They threaten you with it
Inside the grounds
Around the walls of Red Wing
It’s many a guard
That stands around smiling
Holding his club
Like he was a king
Hoping to get you
Behind a wood piling
Inside the grounds
Around the walls of Red Wing
The night aimed shadows
Through the crossbar windows
And the wind punched hard
To make the wall-siding sing
It’s many a night I pretended to be sleeping
On the inside grounds
Around the walls of Red Wing
As the rain rattled heavy
On the bunk-house shingles
And the sounds in the night
That made my ears ring
Until the keys of the guards
Clicked the tune of the morning
On the inside grounds
Around the walls of Red Wing
Oh, some of us’ll end up
In St. Cloud Prison
And some of us’ll wind up
To be lawyers and things
And some of us’ll stand up
To meet you on your crossroads
From inside the grounds
Around the walls of Red Wing
From the inside grounds
Around the walls of Red Wing