Merle Haggard - Branded Man
from the album Branded Man (1967)

(chorus)
G                                  C              G
I'd like to hold my head up and be proud of who I am
                                   D
but they won't let my secret go untold.
  G                          C                           G
I paid the debt I owed them, but they're still not satisfied,
                   D              G
now I'm a branded man out in the cold,


G                                  C               G
When they let me out of prison, I held my head up high,
                                    D
determined I would rise above the shame.
    G                              C                 G
But no matter where I travel, the black mark follows me,
                    D            G
I'm branded with a number on my name.

(chorus)
G                                 C                   G
If I live to be a hundred, guess I'll never clear my name,
                                     D
'cause everybody knows I've been in jail.
    G                                    C                    G
No matter where I'm living, I've got to tell them where I've been,
                             D          G
or they'll send me back to prison if I fail.

(chorus)
                   D              G
now I'm a branded man out in the cold..