Sittin' and cryin' neath the Cottonwood tree
Rattlin' your chains wondering when you'll be free
No use tryin' to make sense of it all

Cause there ain't no tellin' when the hammer gonna fall

Flesh and spirit and muscle and bone
No matter who loves you you go alone
You can beat your fists against the wall
but there ain't no tellin' when the hammer gonna fall

Who gonna save you?
Where you gonna run?
What will you put your faith in?
Will you be reaching for a bible or a gun?

Wind and water and earth and seed
You'll be working in a field with a family to feed
You can break your back for any hope at all
But there ain't no tellin' when the hammer gonna fall

Who gonna save you?
Where you gonna run?
What will you put your faith in?
Will you be reaching for a bible or a gun?

Religion and power and bullets and blood
They tell who to kill and they tell you who to love
You can beat your fists against the wall
But there ain't no tellin' when the hammer gonna fall

Now your sittin and cryin' neath the Cottonwood tree
Rattlin' your chains wondering when you'll be free
Ain't use trying' to make sense of it all
There ain't no tellin' when the hammer gonna fall