I'm Here To Get My Baby Out Of Jail
By: Harty Taylor, Karl Davis

Written by: Harty Taylor, Karl Davis

 
Lyrics:
I'm Here To Get My Baby Out Of Jail [Version (a)]:

"I'm not in your town to stay,"
Said a lady old and gray
To the warden of the penitentiary
"I'm not in your town to stay
And I'll soon be on my way.
I'm just hear to get my baby out of jail."

"I tried to raise my baby right.
I have prayed both day and night
That he wouldn't follow the footsteps of his dad.
I have searched both far and wide
And I feared that he had died
But at last I've found my baby here in jail.
Oh warden, at last I've found my baby here in jail."

"It was just five years today
When his daddy passed away.
He was found beneath the snow, so cold and white.
'Twas then I vowed to take his ring
And his gold watch and his chain
And the county laid his daddy in the grave.
Yes, warden, the county laid his daddy in the grave."

"I will pawn you his watch
I will pawn you his chain
I will pawn you my diamond wedding ring
I will wash all your clothes
I will scrub all your floors
If that will get my baby out of jail.
Yes, warden, if that will get my baby out of jail."

Then I heard the warden say
To the lady old and gray
"I'll go bring your darlin' baby to your side."
Two iron gates swang wide apart.
She held her darlin' to her heart.
She kissed her baby boy and then she died.

"I'm not in your town to stay,"
Said a lady old and gray.
"I'm just here to get my baby out of jail.
Yes, warden, I'm just here to get my baby out of jail."
 
The Song:

It order for it to feel more authentic, Beck filled out his Song Reader book with fragments of songs and melodies, as well as fictional album collections and made-up song titles. On the back of "Saint Dude," there are five such albums, and "I'm Here To Get My Baby Out Of Jail" is listed as part of the most sensational collection of songs, Prison And Mountain Songs (For Boys).

Many, if not most, of the songs on the back of "Saint Dude" are references to older sheet music/songs. This is no exception, and was an frequently-covered country song, I think most famously done by one of Beck's favorite groups, The Everly Brothers.