[Short Instrumental Intro] [Verse] Ain't a lawman crossed that ridge line Since the Hoover days went by Ain't a preacher saved a Tatum And Lord knows three went up to try They say the oldest wrestled A black bear to a draw They say the young one bit the bear That's Tatum family law [Chorus] Bar the door, boy (bar the door) When the Tatums come around Salt the well, boy (salt the well) Hide your copper in the ground They come quiet, they come hungry They come takin' what they please The Tatum boys, the Tatum boys Lord, bar the door, boy, please [Verse] They say their grandmam cursed the county From a gallows built too short They say they buried Great Uncle Ray Standin' up, just for the sport Every empty smokehouse Every dog that don't come home Every cold still in the holler Got a Tatum in the bones [Chorus] Bar the door, boy (bar the door) When the Tatums come around Salt the well, boy (salt the well) Hide your copper in the ground They come quiet, they come hungry They come takin' what they please The Tatum boys, the Tatum boys Lord, bar the door, boy, please [Banjo Break] [Bridge] [Stripped Back] That's the song my mama sang me That's the tale the holler tells I believed it every winter I believed it, I believed it well [Verse] Now I'm belly-down in laurel Lookin' down upon their fire Two gray men and one thin boy Feedin' green wood to the pyre They're runnin' my copper wrong and smoky Cussin' kin and cussin' cold And God forgive me for what I saw there: Us, on the far side of the road [Chorus] [Whisper] Bar the door, boy (bar the door) Ain't the devils I was told Salt the well, boy (salt the well) Just some hungry men gone cold But a man will do his worst work On the day his legend dies The Tatum boys, the Tatum boys Look just like us, boys Lord, bar the door [Outro] [Decrescendo] Bar the door Bar the door
