Don’t tell a soul

The doctor spoke in careful words
Like thunder far away
Said the road I’m walking’s running out
Sooner than we’d pray

I walked out into that parking lot
Where the wind cut through my coat
Lit a smoke and watched it fade away
And that’s when I made my oath

Don’t tell a soul I’m dying
Don’t let the silence break
Let my friends keep laughing loud with me
Like nothing’s at stake

Let my family see my living
Not the shadow in my bones
If the reaper’s walking with me
He can walk me home alone

Don’t tell a soul

I’ll sit down at that corner bar
Where the neon always bleeds
Raise a glass to every damn mistake
That ever made me me

I’ll drive that road along the river
Where the blacktop disappears
Let the night wind hit me in the face
Like I got a hundred years

Don’t tell a soul I’m dying
Don’t change the way they smile
Let them talk about tomorrow
Like we’re staying here awhile

Let my brothers tell their stories
Let my mama call me home
If the end is getting closer
It can find me on my own

Don’t tell a soul

Maybe I’ll hold them longer
Maybe I’ll say “I love you” twice
But they’ll just think the whiskey’s talking
Not the ticking of my life

Don’t tell a soul I’m dying
Let the music play all night
Let the laughter fill the darkness
Like a porch light in the night

And when I finally fade to silence
Like an old forgotten song
They’ll remember how I lived with them
Not that I was gone

Don’t tell a soul
Don’t tell a soul

Dark country