"Midnight Rider" was the second single from their second studio album, Idlewild South (1970), released on Capricorn Records. The song was primarily written by vocalist Gregg Allman, who first began composing it at a rented cabin outside Macon, Georgia. He enlisted the help of roadie Robert Kim Payne to complete the song's lyrics. He and Payne broke into Capricorn Sound Studios to complete a demo of the song.

"Midnight Rider" originated during the group's time spent at Idlewild South, a $165-a-month farmhouse they rented on a lake outside Macon, Georgia.[1] Allman felt free to smoke marijuana with no police around, which contributed to his writing at the cabin.[2] Its genesis was quick: the song came to him out of nowhere, and he completed a rough draft in just over an hour of writing.

Lyrics

Well, I've got to run to keep from hidin',

And I'm bound to keep on ridin'.

And I've got one more silver dollar,

But I'm not gonna let 'em catch me, no,

Not gonna let 'em catch the Midnight Rider.

And I don't own the clothes I'm wearing,

And the road goes on forever,

And I've got one more silver dollar,

But I'm not gonna let 'em catch me, no

Not gonna let 'em catch the Midnight Rider.

And I've gone by the point of caring,

Some old bed I'll soon be sharing,

And I've got one more silver dollar,

But I'm not gonna let 'em catch me, no

Not gonna let 'em catch the Midnight Rider.

No, I'm not gonna let 'em catch me, no

Not gonna let 'em catch the Midnight Rider.

No, I'm not gonna let 'em catch me, no

Not gonna let 'em catch the Midnight Rider.

Songwriters: Gregg L. Allman / Robert Kim Payne

Midnight Rider lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.