A tongue can accuse
And carry bad news
The seeds of distrust it will sow
But unless you've made
No mistakes in your life
Be careful of stones that you throw
A neighbor was passing my garden one time
She stopped and I knew right away
That it was gossip, not flowers
She had on her mind
And this is what I heard my neighbor say
"That girl down the street
Should be run from our midst
She drinks and she talks quite a lot
She knows not to speak
To my child or to me"
My neighbor then smiled and I thought
A tongue can accuse
And carry bad news
The seeds of distrust it will sow
But unless you've made
No mistakes in your life
Be careful of stones that you throw
A car speeded by
And the screaming of brakes
A sound that made my blood chill
For my neighbor's one child
Had been pulled from the path
And saved by a girl lying still
The child was unhurt
And my neighbor cried out
"Oh who was that brave girl so sweet?"
I covered the crushed
Broken body and said
"The bad girl who lived down the street"
A tongue can accuse
And carry bad news
The seeds of distrust it will sow
But unless you've made
No mistakes in your life
Be careful of stones that you throw