Dm                       Gm 
These chains of sorrow, they are heavy, it is true 
          D# 
And these locks cannot be broken, 
             Dm 
no, not with one thousand keys 
                            Gm 
O Jailer, you drag a ball-n-chain you cannot see 
You can lay your burden on me 
D# 
You can lay your burden down on me 
Cm 
You can lay your burden down upon me 
        Dm 
But you cannot lay down your memory 
 
Gm              D#  
Woooo wooo wooo Woooo wooo wooo 
Dm         Gm          D#  Dm 
Here I go! Knockin on Joe! 
Dm  
This square foot of sky will be mine til I die 
         Gm    D#               
Knocking on Joe  Woooo wooo wooo 
Dm               Cm 
All down the row Knockin on Joe 
 
O Warden I surrender to you 
Your fists can't hurt me anymore 
You know, these hands will never mop your dirty Death Row floors 
O Preacher, come closer, you don't scare me anymore 
Just tell Nancy not to come here   
Just tell her not to come here anymore 
Tell Nancy not to come and let me die in the memory of those arms 
O woo woo woo Woo woo woo 
All down the row Knockin on Joe 
O you kings of halls and ends of halls 
You will die within these walls 
And I'll go, down the row Knockin on Joe 
 
O Nancy's body is a coffin, 
she wears my tombstone at her head 
O Nancy's body is a coffin, 
she wears my tombstone at her head 
She wears her body like a coffin 
She wears a dress of gold and red 
She wears a dress of red and gold 
She wears a dress of gold and red  
Grave-looters at my coffin before my body's even cold 
 
It's a door for when I go 
Knockin on Joe 
These hands will never mop 
your dirty Death Row floors 
No! You can hide! You can run! 
O but your trial is yet to come 
 
O you can run! You can hide! 
But you have yet to be tried! 
You can lay your burdens down here 
You can lay your burden down Knockin on Joe 
You can lay your burden upon me 
 
You can lay your burden upon me 
Knockin on Joe 
You can lay it down here 
You can bring your burden down 
Knockin on Joe...