Cash On the Barrel Head

Got in a little trouble at the county seat

Lord, they put me in the jailhouse for loafin' on the street

When the judge heard the verdict, I was a guilty man

He said, "Forty-five dollars, or thirty days in the can

That'll be cash on the barrel head, son

You can take your choice, you're twenty-one

No money down, no credit plan

No time to chase you, 'cause I'm a busy man"

Found a telephone number on a laundry slip

I had a good hearted jailer with a six gun hip

He let me call long distance, she said, "Number please"

And no sooner than I told her, she shouted out at me

"That'll be cash on the barrel head, son

Not part, not half, but the entire sum

No money down, no credit plan

'Cause a little bird tells me, you're a travelin' man"

Thirty days in the jailhouse, four days on the road

I was feelin' mighty hungry, my feet a heavy load

Saw a Greyhound comin', stuck up my thumb

Just as I was bein' seated, the driver caught my arm

Said, "That'll be cash on the barrel head, son

This old gray dog gets paid to run

When the engine starts, Lord, the wheels won't roll

Give me cash on the barrel head, I'll take you down the road"