Let the water turn the wheel 'round, yeah Let the sun shine on the vine for a time now, baby See the boatman's body is floating in the shoals So be careless with your clothes Don't ask the wind just where it blows, for it knows That there's room enough for us upon the chain, yeah Upon the chain So strike the earth and let it bleed Get your water from the well up by the truck now, baby And in these days of great and timeless circumstance See the stony sergeant dance With a shotgun in his hand, he's a man 'Cause there's room enough for us upon the chain, yeah Upon the chain My uncle broke out of the chain gang He stole a station wagon somewhere in the Palo Verde He drove back thinking about his girl up on the hill With her needle and her spoon And her kisses were like the moon To his starry sky Oh, I was just a kid trying not to cry On a sunny day in east LA Yeah my uncle got his fix that day 'Cause there's room enough for us upon the chain, yeah Upon the chain