Lyrics:

Bend but don't break give before you take
Always look 'em right in the eye
These are words to live by

Jim proposed to Sue she said I do
They eloped into a summer's night
Heading for Loredo that's the way wind blew
They got in their first real fight

Standing at the alter shoes and her halter
Jim sweating out his Sunday best
Looking all around them but nobody found them
And this is what the preacher said

Bend but don't break give before you take
Always look 'em right in the eye
Always have a reason dress right for the season
Never cheat and never lie
These are words to live by

Billy's washing dishes
And all the time he wishes he could find a better way
Yea and no season had rain for a country singer
Bound for a life of that fortune and fame

He wrote a couple songs and they got a long
Into the hands of a bad Nashville man
Playin' on the radio and he ain't never seen no doe
Looks back down at them ugly pots and pans

Bend but don't break give before you take
Always look 'em right in the eye
Always have a reason dress right for the season
Never cheat and never lie
These are words to live by

You know times in our life are nervous and reckless,
Sometimes it's hard just to get by
Ain?t it good to know that we can still grow
So gimme one word and tell me one time

Always me and mother and never were no other
Daddy died when I was just three
Always understood that she did the best she could
I needed someone right there Momma would be

I never thought twice to ask for advice
When I got crazy in my head
What ever the cause, she would slowly pause
And this is what Momma said

Bend but don't break give before you take
Always look 'em right in the eye
Always have a reason dress right for the season
Never cheat and never lie
These are words to live by