Be No Church Tonight
Preacher Bill come to our house,
One Sunday bright and fine,
To fill his belly with sweet potatoes,
Biscuits, chicken and wine.
He took our Nelly back up the barn,
And carried on a sight,
I heard him whisper in her ear,
"There 'll be no church tonight."
"There'll be no church tonight, my dear,
There'll be no church tonight!
One more kiss from your red lips,
And there'll be now church tonight!"
While peeking through my knot-hole,
I seen him take her hand,
Put his hand upon her bosom,
And called it the promised land.
The mountains of life and glory's hills,
As he touched her leg so light,
He gasped for air and said a prayer,
"There'll be no church tonight!"
She lay on a pile of hay,
And gently closed her eyes,
She said the word of the 23rd psalm,
To the good Lord and the skies;
What I seen through that knot-hole,
I cannot sing or write,
But now I know the reason why,
There'll be no church tonight.
Writer/s: Woody Guthrie, Sarah Lee Guthrie, Johnny Irion
