I was born and raised in Boston, a place you all know well,
Brought up by honest parents, the truth to you I'll tell,
Brought up by honest parents, and raised most tenderly,
Till I became a sporting lad at the age of twenty three,
[2]
My character was taken and I was sent to jail,
My friends they came and tried in vain to get me out on bail,
The jury found me guilty, and the clerk he wrote it down,
The judge he passed the sentence, I was bound for Charlestown.
[3]
They placed me on an east bound train on a cold December's day,
And every station we passed by you could hear the people say,
There goes the Boston burglar, in cold chains he is bound,
For one crime or another he is bound for Charlestown.
[4]
All you who have your freedom, take warning if you can,
And don’t go round the streets at night breaking laws of God or man
For if you do you'll surely loose and find yourself like me,
Serving up full twenty years in the penitentiary