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