Brotherhood Is Dead

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Back when a man could knock on your door,

And blood meant more than a dollar in war.

You brought the whiskey, I brought the bread,

If you were down, I’d stand by your bed.

A handshake was iron, a promise was law,

You didn’t leave family bleeding on the floor.

Now every smile’s got a blade underneath,

And you best count your friends when you sit down to eat.

Where did the brotherhood go?

Where’d that old hard country honor go?

A hand washed a hand, a man stood his ground,

When one brother fell, the whole damn town came around.

Now blood turns cold and the back doors close,

You can’t tell a friend from the devil you know.

Where did the brotherhood go?

Hell, sometimes your own kin’s the one holding the knife to your throat.

Daddy taught me, “Boy, never turn your back

On the ones who carried you through the black.”

Mama said, “Son, blood’s thicker than rain,

You stand with your people through pleasure and pain.”

But times got mean and the old ways died,

Now greed sits smiling at the family table wide.

They’ll call you brother with a snake in their hand,

Then sell your name for a fistful of sand.

Where did the brotherhood go?

Where’d that old hard country honor go?

A hand washed a hand, a man stood his ground,

When one brother fell, the whole damn town came around.

Now blood turns cold and the back doors close,

You can’t tell a friend from the devil you know.

Where did the brotherhood go?

Hell, sometimes your own kin’s the one holding the knife to your throat.

I ain’t saying the old days were clean,

There was plenty of sin in the in-between.

But a man had a line he wouldn’t cross,

And family meant something when everything was lost.

Now everybody’s counting what they can take,

While loyalty’s another thing they’re willing to break.

So pour one out for the ones who stayed,

For the debts they paid and the promises made.

For the brothers who stood when the whole world ran,

For the last damn word: “I got your back, man.”

Where did the brotherhood go?

Where’d that old hard country honor go?

No more standing shoulder to shoulder in the rain,

No more taking someone else’s pain.

Just cold eyes watching while a good man falls,

And empty houses with no one to call.

Where did the brotherhood go?

When even your own blood might be the one who lets you go.

Yeah…

The porch light’s burning, but nobody’s home.

The family table’s full…

And somehow a man still eats alone.

So keep your back to the wall, son.

Keep your eyes on the door.

’Cause the devil ain’t always outside…

Sometimes he shares your blood.

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