60 Songs About Prison
No one wants to live behind bars, but many people do a stint there. Make a playlist of pop, rock, country & R&B tunes about jail and prison.
Michael & Diane Weidner via Unsplash, Free Domain
We've All Been a Prisoner of Something
If you've done time in the slammer, then you already know that the jails and prisons are overflowing. With nearly one in 100 American adults serving jail time, the United States has the highest incarceration rate in the world.1 We love to lock people up. In fact, one in 5 prisoners in the world is incarcerated in the US.2
Even if you haven't served time behind bars, you can probably identify with the feelings of being a prisoner. Everyone's probably been a prisoner of something in their lives—whether love, money, addiction, their lifestyle, or poor choices.
Make yourself a prison playlist of pop, rock, country, and R&B songs as you cherish your freedom and vow never to repeat the sins of the past.
1. "I Fought the Law" by The Clash
When the guy in this zippy 1979 rock song had no money, he tried robbery, however he was terrible at it because he got caught. So now, he's tucked away in prison breaking rocks for a living and missing the woman he loves. The narrator is learning about behavior and consequences the hard way.
2. "Chains" by Nick Jonas
Sometimes brick-and-mortar jails lock people up, but at other times, it's love that holds them hostage. The guy in this 2014 pop tune can't break the chains of attraction that bind him to his lover. No matter how hard he tries to resist her, he finds himself a repeat offender.
3. "Jailhouse Rock" by Elvis Presley
Named by Rolling Stone as one of "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time," this 1957 song by the legendary King of Rock n' Roll was an international hit. It depicts a prison dance party hosted by the warden and brought to life by the prison band.
The reference to prison romance was inadvertently overlooked by the censors as well as many listeners at the time:
Number forty seven said to number three
"Well, you're the cutest jailbird I ever did see
I sure would be delighted with your company
Come on and do the Jailhouse Rock with me."
4. "Prison Song" by System of a Down
According to this 2001 hard rock song, the War on Drugs has failed. It has filled our prisons with minor drug offenders rather than rehabilitating them. Meanwhile, the richer, more powerful drug kingpins remain unpunished and their reach remains unchecked. What are your thoughts?
Musicians Who Have Been to Prison or Jail
Funk icon James Brown spent six years in prison for aggravated assault and evading police in an interstate police chase | R&B singer Lauryn Hill spent three months in federal prison and did three months of home confinement for tax evasion | Ike Turner, R&B singer and abusive ex-husband of Tina Turner, served 17 months in prison for drug offenses |
Former rapper and current movie star and producer Mark Wahlberg spent 45 days in jail as a teenager after he beat a middle-aged Vietnamese man with a stick | Vince Neil of Motley Crue spent 15 days in jail for vehiclular manslaughter and DUI | Boy George of 1980s Culture Club fame served four months in jail for false imprisonment of an escort and promising to give the man what he deserved using whips and other devices |
Singer R. Kelly received 30 years in prison for racketeering and sex traficking crimes | Wiz Khalifa spent the night in jail in 2014 for drug-related offenses, posting a selfie on Twitter of himself in the can | Tupac Shakur served 11 months in lockup for sexual assault in 1995 |
Justin Bieber served 24 hours in jail after being charged with DUI, resisting arrest, driving with an expired license, and underage drinking | As a teenager, Barry White stole $30,000 in Cadillac tires and spent 4 months in the slammer | Ozzy Osbourne spent six weeks in jail for shoplifting as a teen. He also spent several hours in jail and was released on $40 bail after publicly urinating on the monument to The Alamo while dressed in his wife's clothes |
Country singer David Allan Coe was in and out of jail since a juvenile and once killed a man in prison for making an unwelcome sexual advance | Nick Carter of the Backstreet Boys punched a bar bouncer and went to jail for a few hours until he could be released on bail | Rick James served one year in jail for draft evasion and three years in prison for kidnapping and torturing two women |
Glen Campbell served 10 days in jail for DUI and leaving the scene of an accident | Johnny Paycheck shot a man in a bar and served less than two years in prison. Earlier in his career, in the military he punched a superior officer and spent time in military prison. | George Michaels served four weeks in prison for DUI |
Pearl Jam front man Eddie Vedder spent the night in jail for public drunkenness and disturbing the peace | Johnny Cash served a three-day suspended sentence for drug possession after returning from a trip from Mexico as a young man | Green Day frontman Billie Joe Armstrong served eight days in jail for a DUI convinction |
4. "Still Doing Time" by George Jones
So you get caught cheating on your lover—twice, no less—and she rightly leaves your sorry self behind. Where do you have left to go but the local honky tonk to drink your sorrows away, serving penance for your sins?
Recommended
Full of regret, this 1981 country classic is pure George Jones. However, if you're looking for an updated rendition, look up the version by country singer Jamey Johnson. It will make you think the Possum has come back from the grave.
6. "My Own Prison" by Creed
Creed's first single, this rock song from 1997 features a narrator who overdoses and thus creates his own prison. He faces a trial before God on Judgement Day and awaits his verdict which has no appeal.
7. "Chain Gang" by Sam Cooke
Chain gangs are the unlikely topic of this 1960 rock ditty. The narrator is part of a prison work group shackled together and performing menial work under the hot sun. He is thirsty and thinks about how much he wishes he could be with his sweetheart.
A hold-over of slavery, chain gangs were a type of penal labor mostly employed in the American South until the mid-1950s. There was a brief revival of the practice in the 1990s in some states with the push to get tough on crime.
Traditional chain gangs chipped rocks or dug ditches, whereas the modern work groups of prisoners that you likely see on roadsides are not chained together. They often pick up trash or perform other duties under supervision.
8. "Back on the Chain Gang" by The Pretenders
The Pretenders recorded this 1982 rock release as a tribute to their guitarist who had recently passed away due to a drug overdose. The tune refers to a member of the group having left the chain gang while the others stay behind to complete the hard labor.
9. "Mama Tried" by Merle Haggard
I wanted some diversity of artists on this playlist, of course, so I couldn't put all of Merle Haggard's prison-themed songs on it. However, I am including this 1968 country favorite.
The musician had a long rap sheet starting from an early age and even served time in San Quentin for robbery and trying to escape a local jail. In 1972, he was pardoned by then-Governor Ronald Reagan.3
The Hag makes it clear that for all his wrongdoings, it wasn't his mama's fault. She raised a rebel son alone, took him to church, and worked countless hours to provide for him. Despite her best efforts, her wayward son "turned 21 in prison doing life without parole." That poor woman.
10. "Locked Up" by Akon
The radio (i.e., clean) version of this R&B single from 2004 is meaningful, as the narrator reflects on his imprisonment. Locked up, the protagonist feels left out and forgotten:
Can't wait to get out and move forward with my life,
Got a family that loves me and wants me to do right
But instead, I'm here locked up.
11. "Prisoner" by The Weeknd (Featuring Lana Del Rey)
Prison isn't always a place. Sometimes it's a habit, a state of mind, a lifestyle. The narrator in this 2015 rock tune feels that fame is a prison that simultaneously attracts and traps:
I’m a prisoner to my addiction
I’m addicted to a life that’s so empty and so cold
I’m a prisoner to my decisions.
12. "Ol' Red" by Blake Shelton
The ol' country boy in this 1990 country track is a smart convict who became BFFs with the warden, thus being given the job of watching the prison's bloodhound. The convict knew that the dog was an excellent tracker but wouldn't be able to resist the natural allure of a lady dog. With clever planning and a little luck, the prisoner hatched a plan to distract the dog, and he ran free.
Modern chain gangs are called work groups. They don't wear chains and work under close supervision of a guard picking up trash or performing other work for community benefit.
Patrick Denker via Flickr, CC-BY-SA 2.0
13. "Billy Austin" by Steve Earle & The Dukes
The narrator in this 1991 country single is a career criminal and convicted killer. As he faces his final hours for gunning down a man at a gas station, he tries to turn the tables on the listener. The man asks tough questions about race, poverty, and the justice system. To me, it seems a little late to be asking those questions though.
14. "Rusty Cage" by Soundgarden
The rusty cage that has imprisoned the narrator in this 1991 rock song is a bad drug habit which he is determined to break free from. He describes the leads and chains which bind him with anguish. Now he is prepared to run free.
15. "High Cost of Living" by Jamey Johnson
From a prison cell, a recovering drug addict recalls the events that landed him behind bars in his 2008 country release. He laments trading a steady job, a home, and a loving marriage for a prison cell:
I tell you ... the high cost of livin'
Ain't nothing like the cost of livin' high.
The United States has the highest incarceration rate in the world. About 1 in 5 of offenders are locked up for a drug offense.
3939153 via Pixabay, Free Domain
Prison Slang: How Many Terms Do You Know?
| Term | Term |
|---|---|
all day - a life sentence | ding wing - the prison psychiatric unit |
all day and night - a life sentence with no parole | jackrabbit parole - to escape from prison |
brake fluid - psychiatric medications | kite - a contraband letter |
cell warrior - an inmate who acts tough when locked in his/her cell but behaves cowardly when out in the open among other prisoners | monkey mouth - a prisoner who talks on and on about nothing |
chin check - to punch another inmate in the jaw to see whether s/he will fight back | Ninja Turtles - prison guards dressed in full riot gear |
dance on the blacktop - to get stabbed | stainless steel ride - death by lethal injection |
16. "Prisoner of Your Eyes" by Judas Priest
The man in this 1982 rock number is heartbroken and wants to revive the love that he and his old flame had. She has the poor guy mesmerized, and he feels trapped by her memory, unable to move on. Dude, break free. She's already over you.
17. "Jailbreak" by Thin Lizzy
In this classic 1976 hard rock song, advance warning is provided that something dangerous is going down tonight, and you better not be around to witness it. Don't try to stop them. Don't get in their way. There's gonna be a jailbreak tonight.