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
'Til I became a sporting lad
At the age of twenty-three
My character was taken
And I was sent to gaol
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
I can see my darling mother
Standing at the bar
Likewise my dear father
Tearing out his hair
Tearing out his grey old locks
As the tears came trickling down
"My son, my son what have you done
To be sent to Charlestown?"
They placed me on an eastbound train
One cold December day
And every station we passed through
You could hear the people say
"There goes the Boston Burglar
In cold chains he is bound
For one crime or another
He is sent to Charlestown"
All you who'd have your freedom
Take warning if you can
And don't go midnight rambling
Or you'll break the laws of man
And if you do you'll surely rue
And wind up just like me
Serving up full twenty years