Chen Gong (died 198),courtesy name Gongtai, was an advisor to the warlord Lü Bu in the late Eastern Han Dynasty. However, he started his career under Cao Cao before defecting to Lü Bu and was executed when the latter was defeated by Cao.
In Luo Guanzhong's historical novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Chen Gong was given a positive makeover. He was said to have given up his official post to follow Cao Cao, who was then on the run after an attempted assassination on Dong Zhuo, a tyrannical warlord holding the emperor hostage in the imperial court. However, he left Cao Cao when he thought the latter was not an upright man either.
A local of Dong Commandery (東郡; south of present-day Shen County, Shandong), Chen Gong's year of birth is unclear. He joined Cao Cao around 190, at the time when warlords around the country formed a coalition against Dong Zhuo, a powerful warlord who held the emperor hostage. His most significant contribution while under service to Cao Cao was the taking over of Yan Province (兖州; covering present-day western Shandong) in 193 through diplomatic efforts, a strategic move which laid down the foundation for Cao Cao's subsequent rise in power.
I was just a kid roamin' around travelin' through a little ol' town
A man walked up and said come with me you're broke and son that's vagrancy
I carefree lad that love to roam but Lord I wish I'd stayed at home
The way it looks I'll prob'ly hang cause there ain't no hope on a chain gang
I dig that ditch I chop that corn I curse the day that I was born
I believe it's better for a man to hang than to work like a dog on a chain gang
[ ac.guitar ]
The guard stands there with a great big gun I bet he'd love to see me run
And I guess I prob'ly will some day I'd rather be dead than to live this way
He's well fed and he's six foot tall and he's a meanest of them all
He cracks that whip and he swings that cane the sun must've touched his brain
I dig that ditch...
[ dobro ]
I gat a gal back home that's sweet and kind and she's been waitin' a long long time
I just told her to forget my name I won't ever live down to shame
Lord deliver me from this hole before I lose my mind and soul
The place gets weak and the back gets broke ain't no cause to laugh and joke
I dig that ditch...