I hit the road outta high school
With a guitar in my hand
Fell in love with the sound of a honky tonk band
Daddy looked me in the eye and said
Son, you're gonna throw your life away
You're just
Givin' mama reasons to pray

Fell in love with a barmaid
I guess you live and learn
Oh how I felt that whiskey burn
And all the while I was thinkin'
This ain't how I was raised
But I kept
Givin' mama reasons to pray

Mama always believed in me
She knew the kind of man that I could be
But every time I'd get on track
The devil made me stray
And I'd be
Givin' mama reasons to pray

I held my mama's dyin' hand
On a Tuesday afternoon
It was the coldest day that we ever had in June
She pulled me close and whispered
The last thing I heard her say
Was son stop
Givin' mama reasons to pray

Mama always believed in me
She knew the kind of man that I could be
But every time I'd get on track
The devil made me stray
And I was
Givin' mama reasons to pray

Oh I'm not
Givin' mama reasons to pray