RIOT IN CELL BLOCK NO.9
(Jerry Leiber / Mike Stoller)

The Robins - 1954
Wee Willie Harris - 1958
Johnny Cash - 1962
Dr. Feelgood - 1979
Blues Brothers - 1983


On July second, 1953,
I was serving time for armed robbery
'Bout four in the morning
I was sleepin' in my cell
I heard a whistle blow
I heard somebody yell

There's a riot goin' on
There's a riot goin' on
There's a riot goin' on
Up in cell block number nine

The trouble started in cell block no. 4
It spread like fire across the prison floor
I said "Come on boys, get ready to run -
Here comes the warden with a tommy gun"

There's a riot goin' on
There's a riot goin' on
There's a riot goin' on
Up in cell block number nine

The warden said
"Come out with your hands up in the air
If you don't stop this riot
You're all gonna get the chair"
Scarface Jones said, "It's too late to quit
And pass the dynamite, 'cause the fuse is lit"

There's a riot goin' on
There's a riot goin' on
There's a riot goin' on
Up in cell block number nine

The ninety-second hour
The tear gas got our men
Crawled in our cells
But every now and then...

There's a riot goin' on
There's a riot goin' on
There's a riot goin' on
Up in cell block number nine