if I could turn back the hands of time
if I could turn back the clock
I wouldn't be in the place I'm in
I wouldn't be in the dock
where's your friends when you need them most

probably hidin' under a rock
if I could undo the things I did
if I could turn back the clock

it started out like any other day
lazin' around with nothing to do
my mind started wondering onto criminal things
and how to make a dollar or two
I called the guys on my telling phone
and told them of my little scheme
we drank some beer, we ate some pills,
I shared with them my dream

I can't recall exactly how
I got to where I shouldn't have been
my head seemed filled with hombre stuff
I fealt like I was on the screen
I drank more beer, I ate more pills
gained myself a spinning head
I raised a gun, I killed a man
I'm told it was for something he said

it's been a year since I said a prayer
but God Almighty, if your listening up there

if I could turn back the hands of time
if I could turn back the clock
I wouldn't be in this cell right now
I wouldn't be in the dock
where's your friends when you need them most
probably hidin' under a rock
if I could undo the things I did
if I could turn back the clock

misters life and death drone on
in their salutary tones
while I stand in that wooden dock
all sober and alone
the papers say it's such a crime
what's been dished to me
and people who I do not know
are banging on for clemency

now I have the best of cells
with ladies on my walls
when I'm moved they holler "dead man walking"
the words echo around the halls
I ponder on where my soul is bound
as I stare up at the moon
above the clouds, beneath the ground
I'm gonna find out real soon

strap me in to the killing chair
give me the volts, straighten out my hair
it's been a year since I said a prayer
but God Almighty, if your listening up there

if I could turn back the hands of time
if I could turn back the clock
I wouldn't be in this place right now
I wouldn't be in the dock
where's your friends when you need them most
probably hidin' under a rock
if I could undo all the things I did
if I could turn back the clock