These Old Bones

[Chorus] These old bones will tell your story These old bones will never lie These old bones will tell you surely What you can't see with your eye These old bones, I shake and rattle These old bones, I toss and roll And it's all in where they scatter Tells you what the future holds [Verse 1] Oh, she lived up on the mountain Eleven miles or so from town With a one-eyed cat named Wink A billy goat and a blue tick hound Her graying hair was braided And wrapped around her head And her dress was long and faded And her home a rusty shed In a little pouch of burlap Tied with a piece of twine There were bones all shapes and sizes Gathered through the course of time She'd throw them out before you She swore that she could see The present, past and future She could ready your destiny Everybody knew about her Came to get their fortune read Concerning health and wealth and power Who to love and when to wed Well, I just like helping people I'm just glad that I could help Why, I know everybody's secrets But I keep it to myself [Chorus] [Verse 2] Some called her witch woman Some said she was insane Some said she was a prophet Still everybody came Just because a body's different Well, that don't make them mad Well, they've crucified a many For the special gifts they've had I had often heard about her Dreamed about her now and then For I, too, was clairvoyant Came about when I was ten I was fascinated with her And the things I'd heard about And I knew some day I'd meet her And one day it came about Well, I know'd that you because coming I could feel it in my bones These old bones have also told me That I won't be here for long Did you know that you got adopted? Did you know you once't was mine? But the county took you from me Said I wasn't right in mind But I just know'd I had to see you Before these bones was laid to rest So I conjured up a message It must'a worked, I guess This gift runs in the family I know you also know And I passed this gift on to you These old bones, they're just for show [Chorus] [Verse 3] I held her hand while she was dying And with the funeral through I headed on back up the mountain For Billy, Wink and Blue And that little pouch of burlap With those bones so worn and old She give me something special Now every time I throw [Chorus] [Verse 4] Now I can't tell you what you want to hear I just tell you what I see It's these old bones talking Blame it on them; don't pack it on me It's just like that time that there boy died Up at the sawmill Well, I know'd who done it, but I never said And I know'd when somebody is a cheating Or when somebody's baby was going to be born dead But unless somebody just plain out and asked me Well, I just figured there is no point going around acting like you know everything, just because you might Ah, you know girl I want you to take these bones Because I don't want no young of mine going around unprepared You just remember that the magic is inside you There is no crystal ball