Southern Roots

Way down south in no man's land
Was a good wife dealt a dirty hand
Her man's head just wasn't right
He got sick drunk most every night

He married her for her daddy's money
And to spread the seed of his family tree
She married for love and the sake of the heart
But all the good had fallen apart

There's a tree grows tall by the waterside
'Cause it's standing on southern roots
And you don't mess around with the girls in the south
'Cause the mommas teach the girls to shoot

He came back home from a pistol fight
Stoned and drunk in the middle of the night
He hit her hard with the butt of his gun
That's the moment she came undone

Well he woke up sick with a pain in his head
She brought him coffee and breakfast in bed
She rubbed his feet and gave a smile
And said "Can we take a walk in a while?"

There's a tree grows tall by the waterside
'Cause it's standing on southern roots
And you don't mess around with the girls in the south
'Cause the mommas teach the girls to shoot

She took a shovel down to the creek
And dug a hole three wide six deep
Back at the house her eyes did shine
She said, "Sweetie, fresh air will clear your mind."

She looked pretty with the wind in her hair
With the smell of tupelo in the air
She kissed his lips and the deed was done
She shot him twice with her momma's gun

There's a tree grows tall by the waterside
'Cause it's standing on southern roots
And you don't mess around with the girls in the south
'Cause the mommas teach the girls to shoot

There's a tree grows tall by the waterside
'Cause it's standing on southern roots
And you don't mess around with the girls in the south
'Cause the mommas teach the girls to shoot

He lays beneath the Spanish moss
Where all her pain was finally lost
She planted a live oak right on his grave
And the tree grows taller every day