There was an old coot from Tennessee
Lord he was as wicked as he could be
He'd never been to church or Sunday school
He believed that life was a play
And to have a good time every day
Well he woke up that congregation when he said:
I'm gonna live and how until I die
This life I'm livin' it aint so very high
Well sticks and stones gonna break my bones
I know you're gonna talk about me when I'm gone
I'm gonna live and how until I die
When he went to church on a Sunday mornin'
Everybody in the world was there but one
You should have heard those mourners preach and pray
Well the choir began to sing
And a bell up in the tower began to ring
And he woke up that congregation when he said:
Well I'm gonna build me a cemetary of my own
If you don't leave my good woman alone
I'm gonna get me a razor, gonna scrape the blade
Gonna lay some son of a b**h in the grave
I'm gonna build me a cemetary of my own
Well St. Peter on the judgement day
Was a' listenin' what the poor man say
Said "You got to go back and try it all again"
Dont play your life away
You better listen what the Good Book say
Well he woke up that congregation when he said:
Well I'm gonna live and how until i die
This life I'm livin' it ain't so very high
Well sticks and stones gonna break my bone
And I know you're gonna talk about me when I'm gone
I'm gonna live and how until I die
Yeah, I'm gonna live and how until I die