Intro:

|    Ab    |    C#    |    Ab    |   C#/F   |
|    Ab    |  Eb/G   |    Ab    |     Ab    |

                        C#                Ab
I got rid of the shackles that bound me
                                         Bb7                 Eb
And the guards that were always around       me.
                           Ab                      C#
There were tears        on the mail
                       Ab              C#/F
Mother wrote           me in jail,
             Ab                Eb/G          Ab
But I'm free from the chain gang now.

                               C#                    Ab
All the years I was known and re - spected
                                Bb7                 Eb
Till one day I was wrongly suspect - ed.
                  Ab                     C#
I was shack  -  led in chains
                  Ab               C#/F
In the cold,       freezin' rain,
             Ab                Eb/G          Ab
But I'm free from the chain gang now.

Interlude:

|    Ab    |    C#    |    Ab    |   C#/F   |
|    Ab    |  Eb/G   |    Ab    |     Ab    |

                              C#               Ab
All the years I was known by a number.
                         Bb7         Eb
How I kept my mind is a wonder.
                       Ab                   C#
But like a bird        in a tree,
              Ab             C#/F
I got my        liber - ty,
              Ab                Eb/G          Ab
And I'm free from the chain gang now.

                        C#                Ab
I got rid of the shackles that bound me
                                         Bb7                 Eb
And the guards that were always around       me.
                           Ab                      C#
There were tears        on the mail
                       Ab              C#/F
Mother wrote           me in jail,
             Ab                Eb/G          Ab
But I'm free from the chain gang now.

                           Ab                      C#
There were tears        on the mail
                       Ab              C#/F
Mother wrote           me in jail,
             Ab                Eb/G          Ab
But I'm free from the chain gang now.



For more Johnny Cash chords, see www.unofficial-johnnycash.com!