Robert Earl Keen - Undone

Fire one up and you toss one down
Everybody knows you been downtown
Been downtown late last night
Busted your head in a barroom fight

Fightin? with your brother, fightin? with your wife
Seems you been fightin? every day of your life
Can?t stand still, still can?t run
You put it all together but it came undone

Your soul is junk, your brain is dust
All your memories are eaten up with rust
Your nightmares real, dreams too stark
You love the night but you hate the dark

Your mother, your daddy, little sister too
Told you a secret, they were countin? on you
You were dying to tell but your dad said, "Son
Button your lip but it came undone" *

So they turned you out when you turned them in
They told you don?t come back again
Now the years stack up like old beer cans
Dead end jobs, payment plans

Broke down trucks, welfare checks
Child support and back-seat sex
You?d kill yourself but you hocked your gun
You built a noose but it came undone

So you?re livin? in a shack but you wanna be rich
And you would if it wasn?t for the sonovabitch
The sonovabitch, the dirty old whore
The butcher, the baker, the grocery store

You hate them, they hate you
What in the world are you gonna do?
It ain?t your fault but they need someone
To blame it on when they come undone

Now the storm?s comin? in, the sky?s turned black
It?s too late now, you can?t turn back
Lightnin? strikes on the telephone wire
You?re drunk as a skunk, your shack?s on fire

The wife took the baby and the other two kids
The dogs are a howlin? and the chickens are dead
It?s your last night out and you?re gonna have fun
They?ll read it in the papers when you come undone