Riot In Cell Block No. 9
The Robins Lyrics

On July the second, 1953
This is the exact day and year when the events narrated in the song occurred

I was servin' time for armed robbery
The singer was in jail because he had been convicted of committing a robbery with a weapon

At four o'clock in the mornin', I was sleepin' in my cell
The singer was asleep in his cell at a very early hour of the morning

I heard the whistle blow then I heard somebody yell
There was a loud whistle followed by someone shouting, which woke the artist up

(There's a riot goin' on)
The repeated line implies that a riot is happening in the prison

Up in cellblock number nine
The riot is specifically taking place in cellblock number nine

The trouble started down in cellblock number four
The riot began in cellblock number four and then spread

And spread like fire across the prison floor
The riot grew very quickly and wildly throughout the whole prison

I said, "okay boys, get ready to run
The artist tells his fellow inmates to prepare to flee

Here come the warden with a tommy gun"
The warden arrives with a weapon that can rapidly shoot bullets

The warden said, "come out with your hands up in the air
The warden orders the prisoners to surrender and raise their hands, to stop the riot

If you don't stop this riot, you're all gonna get the chair"
The warden warns that if the riot doesn't end, the inmates will face execution by electric chair

Scarface Jones said, "it's too late to quit
Scarface Jones argues that it is now impossible to stop the riot

Pass the dynamite 'cause the fuse is lit"
Scarface Jones orders for explosives to be passed around because the fuse has already been ignited

In the forty-seventh hour the tear gas got our men
The prison staff eventually used tear gas to subdue the rioters after 47 hours of chaos

We are all back in our cells but every now and then
The inmates have been returned to their cells, but they still feel the tension and potential for another riot to break out