Invisible Stripes [1961 version]

[Verse 1]
They gave me a suit and a twenty dollar bill
When I left the penitentiary
Then they swung open wide those big iron gates
They said they had rehabilitated me
But society doesn't feel the same
I've lost my home and my wife
And they say I've got no one but myself to blame
'cause I wear invisible stripes

[Chorus]
A twenty dollar bill won't buy me my fill
Of all the things I've wanted all my life
And a brand nеw double-breasted bluе-[???] suit
Won't hide these invisible stripes

[Interlude]

[Verse 2]
No matter where I go, they say it ain't no go
They don't want an ex-convict around
So I'm broke all the time and they say that I'm
A menace to the decent people in town
The twenty dollar bill is in somebody's till
And the suit doesn't look brand new
It doesn't seem that fate is gonna let me go straight
These invisible stripes are showing through

[Chorus]
I'd give my life for a home and a wife
And a chance to show I can do right
But I'm hardly hired before they say I'm fired
They've seen these invisible stripes

[Interlude]

[Verse 3]
I dreamed through the years of sweat and tears
Of how life on the outside would be
And that old prison yard didn't seem so hard
When I'd think of the day I'd be free
I'm finally free but nobody wants me
And I'm traveling the road that's right
I've tried to pay my debt but they won't let me forget
This suit of invisible stripes

[Chorus]
I'd give back the suit and the twenty dollar bill
If the warden took me back for life
I'm tired of leaving town and I can't live down
This suit of invisible stripes