Songs About Prison


Whether you're addicted to Orange is the New Black, Netflix's new series about a women's prison, or just your average news junkie, marveling at Ariel Castro's life-plus-a-thousand-years sentence, prison is something that fascinates many of us. (Hopefully because we assume we'll never be there.) Here, six songs about spending time in the slammer.
Folsom Prison Blues
“Prisoners are the greatest audience that an entertainer can perform for,” Cash wrote about this album.
Women's Prison
This song from Loretta Lynn's comeback album "Van Lear Rose," was produced by Jack White.
Chain Gang
This Sam Cooke song was inspired by a chance meeting with some prisoners working on a highway Cooke was driving on.
Back on the Chain Gang
Though the lyrics to this song by The Pretenders aren’t explicitly about prison, the background chant in the refrain directly references Sam Cooke’s “Chain Gang."
Behind Bars
Slick Rick collaborated with Warren G.
Jailhouse Rock
This Elvis Presley song was a big hit in 1957 when it was released alongside his movie of the same name.