My first day in prison I was wondering what to doPraying that all the things I'd heard weren't really trueThe guard told me for my own good I sure better cut my hairHe laughed and said, it's your ass boy, myself I don't careThey gave us prison clothes and took us from the streetWhen the convicts started whistling It felt like a piece of meat in a livestockshow And the world outside don't want to knowWell, good time Slim, he walked right over and pulled up his seatSqueezed my knee till I wanted to cry and said, hello new meatMy friends had all told me when a con comes on strongGet him talking about wise end, there's no con never done wrongI'm feeling like a cornered rat, looking to make my escapeI said, Slim, what are you in for?He laughed and said, a rape And I thought, oh noBut the world outside don't want to knowWell, in jail if you want to stay out of trouble You've only got two choicesYou can be a Bible thumper or the crazy who hears voicesCrazy is a good role if they don't spot your gameAnd even the cons lay off the ones that preach in God's nameI let on I was crazy, everyone left me aloneBut I never knew till later that my heart had turned to stoneLike a lava flowAnd the world outside don't want to knowThe cons were playing cards when the new kid came that dayA winning hand gets him first tonight was what I heard them sayIn jail you have no ears or eyes if you want to stay aliveAnd it's easy to forget about fair when you're trying to surviveI heard the kid scream at night as he beat him to his kneesI wanted to go and help him but all I did was squeeze my head in the pillowAnd the world outside don't want to knowLittle Black Jack was playing fair, Moose hit him from behindJack told Moose, play ball man, you're getting beat cause you ain't tryingWell, Moose fouled Jack once again, Jack took him to the floorAnd he did not let him up until Moose cried no moreNext day in the dining hall there was a muffled soundAs the line moved forward, little Jack lay bleeding on the groundLike a crumpled crumbAnd the world outside don't want to knowEarly one morning the captain came, he had some news for meParole board had decided they were gonna set me freeOutside I could find no work, forget my college degreeNew York's a county city, nothing we can do you seeJust about to hang it up when I got to singing in the streetsMusic saved my life and now I'm in adversity with my past in towAnd the world outside don't want to knowWell, I recall the vow I made as I walked through the prison gateTo fight for reform, to fight the prison stateBut I've not changed a single jail though I swore that I wouldI don't go near them and I know that I shouldAnd the only reason I'd kill someone is to keep from going backYou can think what you want of meBut you didn't see little Jack die so slowAnd the truth is none of us want to know*