Duty to Warn

[Verse 1] I heard the whisper in the water, And the river didn’t lie. Saw a shadow creepin’ sideways, Truth slippin’ right on by. You can say you did not touch it, But that don’t clean your soul. Standin’ still while wrong keeps movin’— Honey, that’s a weight you hold. [Chorus] Got a duty to warn, a duty to stand, Can’t hide your silence in the muddy land. If you see the storm brewin’, you best sound that horn— No mercy for the quiet when the wicked are born. Yeah, it ain’t enough to say you did no harm… When you watched the fire burn and never raised your arm. [Verse 2] Law says maybe you ain’t guilty, But the bayou knows your name. Sometimes doin’ nothin’, baby, Is just another kind of blame. When the water starts to tremble, And the reeds begin to cry, If you turn your back on danger— You’re just lettin’ good men die. [Bridge] You don’t need to lift a weapon, Or help a sinner flee. But if you close your eyes to darkness, It still belongs to thee. [Final Chorus] Got a duty to warn, a duty to speak, Ain’t no refuge for the timid or the weak. If the truth is breakin’ open, you gotta blow that horn— Silence is a shadow where the monsters are born. You can claim you did nothing… but that don’t keep you warm, When you turned away from trouble— And broke your duty to warn.