"There Ain't No Good Chain Gang" is a song written by Hal Bynum and Dave Kirby, and recorded by American country music artists Johnny Cash and Waylon Jennings. It was released in May 1978 as the second single from the album I Would Like to See You Again. The song reached #2 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart.[1]
| "There Ain't No Good Chain Gang" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single by Johnny Cash with Waylon Jennings | ||||
| from the album I Would Like to See You Again | ||||
| B-side | "I Wish I Was Crazy Again" | |||
| Released | May 20, 1978 | |||
| Genre | Country | |||
| Length | 3:16 | |||
| Label | Columbia | |||
| Songwriter(s) | Hal Bynum, Dave Kirby | |||
| Producer(s) | Larry Butler | |||
| Johnny Cash singles chronology | ||||
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| Waylon Jennings singles chronology | ||||
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Content
editThe song is written and sung from the perspective of a prison inmate, writing back home to his family. He tells of the lessons he's learned while incarcerated; the chorus tells the four main ones:
- "There ain't no good in an evil-hearted woman",
- "I ain't cut out to be no Jesse James",
- "You don't go writing hot checks down in Mississippi", and
- "There ain't no good chain gang".
Chart performance
edit| Chart (1978) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| US Hot Country Songs (Billboard)[2] | 2 |
| Canadian RPM Country Tracks | 5 |
References
edit- ^ Whitburn, Joel (2004). The Billboard Book Of Top 40 Country Hits: 1944-2006, Second edition. Record Research. p. 76.
- ^ "Johnny Cash Chart History (Hot Country Songs)". Billboard.
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