(Verse 1)

Don’t you go and polish up my dusty Sunday boots

Or try to pull the tangled weeds from 'round the garden roots

And don’t you let the preacher stand and tell a hollow lie

About a man who was always far too proud to ever cry

(Verse 2)

My brother’s got a ghost to chase in some far-off distant town

He won’t remember how this old house started breaking down

And Mama’s favorite kitchen chair has grown so still and cold

With every secret story that she left behind untold

(Chorus)

So when I die, don't you make a single lonesome sound

Just let the heavy silence be the thing that pulls me down

Don't waste a bouquet of flowers on a stone lost in the weeds

I’ve spent my whole life being exactly what a lonesome man needs

The world won't even blink a weary eye when I die

(Verse 3)

I left a cedar box hidden way back inside the darkened hall

With a faded picture taken just a year before the fall

I’d trade every "sorry" that I’ve kept locked within my chest

For just one more afternoon to try and give my soul some rest

(Verse 4)

I walked through the parlor and I touched the dusty velvet lace

Searching for a flicker of a long-forgotten face

The mail is stacking higher by the cracked and faded sill

Next to a stack of final notices and a heavy hospital bill

I thought I’d have the answers by the time the light turned gold

But I’m just a lonesome story that’s been told and then retold

(Bridge)

The fence is falling over and the garden’s turned to grey

There’s nothing left of value for the wind to take away

The clock on the mantle is tired of the constant heavy strain

And I’m just sitting on the porch and waiting for the rain

(Chorus)

So when I die, don't you make a single lonesome sound

Just let the heavy silence be the thing that pulls me down

Don't waste a bouquet of flowers on a stone lost in the weeds

I’ve spent my whole life being exactly what a lonesome man needs

The world won't even blink a weary eye when I die

(Outro)

Just leave the keys on the counter

And close the rusted gate

Don’t you go and wake the neighbors

It’s already far too late

Yeah, I won’t be needing those old boots sitting by the door

I won’t be need none of that anymore