Lyrics to
I Washed My Hands In Muddy Water

This version of I Washed My Hands In Muddy Water was released by Elvis Presley in 1971.

Visit the Elvis Presley Lyrics profile at Decade Lyrics - it has the I Washed My Hands In Muddy Water lyrics as well as the rest of the songs by Elvis Presley.

Here's more interesting things in songs and lyrics tied to Elvis Presley or about the 1970s in general.

I was born in Macon Georgia
They kept my daddy over in Macon jail
He told me if you keep your hands clean
You won’t hear them bloodhounds on your trail

Well I fell in with bad companions
Robbed a man, oh up in Tennessee
They caught me way up in Nashville
They locked me up and threw away the key

I washed my hands in muddy water
Washed my hands, but they didn’t come clean
Tried to do what my daddy told me
But I must have washed my hands in a muddy stream

Well I asked the judge now when’s my time up
He said son, oh you know we won’t forget
If you try just to keep your hands clean
We might just make a good man of you yet

Oh I couldn’t wait to get my time up
I broke out, broke out of Nashville jail
I just crossed the state-line of Georgia
Well I can hear those bloodhounds on my trail

I washed my hands in muddy water
Washed my hands, but they didn’t come clean
Tried to do what my daddy told me
But I must have washed my hands in a muddy stream

---

Want more lyrics and songs by Elvis Presley?

Elvis Presley has released many songs over the years besides I Washed My Hands In Muddy Water. Elvis Presley released songs from 1956 to 2003 spanning across albums like Elvis '56, Elvis Presley, Loving You, Elvis' Christmas Album, Jailhouse Rock, Elvis' Golden Records, King Creole, 50,000,000 Elvis Fans Can't Be Wrong, A Date With Elvis, For LP Fans Only, G.I. Blues, Elvis Is Back!, His Hand In Mine, Blue Hawaii, Something For Everybody, Pot Luck, Girls! Girls! Girls!, Elvis' Golden Records Volume 3, It Happened At The World's Fair, Fun In Acapulco, Kissin' Cousins, Roustabout, Harum Scarum, Girl Happy, Elvis For Everyone, Paradise, Hawaiian Style, Spinout, Frankie And Johnny, Clambake, Double Trouble, How Great Thou Art, Elvis' Gold Records Volume 4, Elvis (NBC TV Special), Speedway, Back In Memphis, From Elvis In Memphis, Elvis Sings Flaming Star, Elvis In Person At The International Hotel, Almost In Love, Let's Be Friends, That's The Way It Is, On Stage, C'mon Everybody, Love Letters From Elvis, Elvis Country (I'm 10,000 Years Old), I Got Lucky, Elvis Sings The Wonderful World Of Christmas, He Touched Me, Elvis: As Recorded At Madison Square Garden, Elvis Now, Elvis '73, Raised On Rock / For Ol' Times Sake, Aloha From Hawaii: Via Satellite, Elvis: As Recorded Live On Stage In Memphis, Good Times, Today, Promised Land, From Elvis Presley Boulevard, Memphis, Tennessee, Moody Blue, ELV1S: 30 #1 Hits, and ELVIIS: 2nd to None. Decade Lyrics has over lyrics & songs by Elvis Presley.

If you're a fan of 1970s songs looking for more songs from 1971 or the 1970s overall, you've come to the right place!

About Lyrics and I Washed My Hands In Muddy Water by Elvis Presley

The lyrics for I Washed My Hands In Muddy Water are defined as the words making up the song released by Elvis Presley in 1971. It also includes the verses and words used by the background chorus in the song. Like many hit songs, the lyrics to I Washed My Hands In Muddy Water have different meanings to different people. While it is clear in some of the lyrics what the artist is trying to really say, only Elvis Presley and those working with them know all of the meanings behind all of the lyrics to their songs.

Some folks are interested in word and phrase etymology. It is easy to understand the lyrics to I Washed My Hands In Muddy Water by Elvis Presley if you think through it. The word "lyric" itself derives from the Latin word lyricus, with the actual English word lyrics applied to the definition "words set to music" listed in Stainer and Barrett's 1876 Dictionary of Musical Terms. Continuing the chain, the Latin word lyricus derives from the Greek word λυρικός or lyrikós. This somewhat means "poetry accompanied by the lyre" or "words set to music." You can easily see that by looking at the background of the word lyric, that the "lyrics to I Washed My Hands In Muddy Water" means the words set to the music of I Washed My Hands In Muddy Water, or poetry accompanied by the lyre played by Elvis Presley. The singular form "lyric" is still used to mean the complete words to a song. However, the singular form lyric is also commonly used to refer to a specific line (or phrase) within a song's lyrics. Hence, by this analysis of word structure, you could say that the lyric to I Washed My Hands In Muddy Water and the lyrics to I Washed My Hands In Muddy Water are both one and the same thing. None of this talk about the word Lyrics is really relevant to fans of Elvis Presley who came here looking just for the lyrics to I Washed My Hands In Muddy Water, but we feel it is still fun to learn what's behind commonly used words and lyrics in songs.

More Songs & Lyrics by Elvis Presley

Visit our Elvis Presley profile for more Elvis Presley songs, lyrics & info!

)