I was listening to some acts recorded at the Newport Folk Festival this year and heard one bluegrass band (forget the name) doing Alcatraz Blues – banjos, fiddles and mandolins, at breakneck speed. I Googled the lyrics and thought maybe I could try my own version of the song, slower and now with a chorus.

1. Gee but I’m blue and lonesome,

No one seems to understand.

Everybody thinks I’m guilty,

And they say I shot a man.

C.  I’m on my way to California,

But I’d rather go to Tennessee.

Got in trouble down in Dixie.

Now it’s Alcatraz for me.

2.  Well the evidence was circumstantial,

They didn’t want the world to see,

All about the so-called justice,

When you’re a poor boy like me.

3. Woman in Atlanta Georgia,

Oh how how you done me wrong.

If they knew what I knew,

I wouldn’t even be singing this song.

Original lyrics: Alton Delmore (1908 – 1964). Was a member of The Delmore Brothers group and a pioneer of the Grand Ole Opry. He wrote hundreds of songs including many country music hits.