Lord, lord please don't tell Don't tell, don't tell Lord, lord please don't tell Don't tell, don't tell I'll tell you what I did My brother's on the railroad tracks Looking at the golden leaves Cable tied around his hands and knees And my family tree It goes straight Right back into the ground And my family tree It goes straight down Lord, lord please don't tell Don't tell, don't tell Lord, lord please don't tell Don't tell, don't tell I'll tell you where my daddy's been Deep into the still of the night Burn's his candle in the whiskey and sin Mama's been broken all over again And my family tree It goes straight Right back into the ground And my family tree It goes straight down And my family tree It goes straight Right back into the ground And my family tree It goes straight down And what my lord is the lifespan of a tree my lord? The devil only knows And how long must I spend down on my knees my lord? The devil only knows I'll crawl through all the cracks and the bottles I'll crawl through all the cracks I spilt my blood at the foot of the altar And then I broke my back And my family tree It goes straight Right back into the ground And my family tree It goes straight down And my family tree It goes straight Right back into the ground And my family tree It goes straight down