That Old King James

Preacher gave it to him when he was eight,

That Sunday morning he got saved in that little church

Gran-daddy totted it to Bible school

I bet back then it looked brand new,

not a faded word, now the cover's torn

and the leather's worn on that Old King James

He took it with him overseas

England, France and Germany

Right there in the middle of hell

Said he read it every night

He swore that it saved his life

His only hope when there was no hope left

Was in that Old King James

Passed it down to Momma on the day he died

Sat there for the longest time just gathering the dust

But when life would take a sharp turn every now and then

And she would just start missing him, I'd see her pick it up

Now the cover's torn

and the leather's worn on that Old King James

You'll find on every other page

Yellow lines or tear drop stains

Every chapter of that good book

Been through cancer, war and crazy kids

All the stupids things I did

I may never know the toll I took on her

And that Old King James

Yeah I'm the one who's got it now

She said read it when you're feeling down

And I said, "Yes Ma'am"

Now the cover's torn

And the leather's worn on that Old King James