(verse)
I was doin’ three weeks for somethin’ dumb
There weren’t much room in the jail, so y’all
They put me in a cell with a real old man
Gray hair, red eyes and some shakin’ hands
He’d tell stories ‘n jokes ‘n I’d just laugh
He introduced himself as Grandpa Jack
In my short there we grew thick of thieves
I was happy to go, but kinda sad to leave

He served in ‘Nam, made it home okay
But his wife took the kids and just ran away
He worked at Ford, tryin’ to meet hid needs
But the unions wanted more, chased ’em overseas
He fell to the bottle and needle’s point
This was ’bout his hundrenth time here in the joint
He said “Livin’ ain’t nothin if it ain’t clean
So I ain’t live in a while if you know what I mean”

(chorus)
Yeah, Grandpa Jack, with that old man wisdom
The lessons he taught, well, I guess he missed ’em
Livin’ in the world’s a hot hell he said
So he’d rather just stay in the jail instead
He makes pineapple wine and a mean cold soup
He collects envelopes and playin’ cards too
And he trades all his trays for smokes and snacks
The king of the jail, it’s Grandpa Jack

(verse)
Well, they last let him out in ’bout ’04
The shelter made him up a spot on the floor
He met an old woman, his sweet Louise
But she died in ’05, the user’s disease
He figured he was more than through with this life
‘Til he cooked up a plan on a winter’s night
He ran into a store, armed and raisin’ hell
And he smiled when the cops came to take ‘im to jail

(chorus)