Hold My Sweet Tea

Lyrics

Verse 1

I was changin' out a flat tire
On a ninety-five degree day
Skinned my knuckles on the lug wrench
Thought I'd found the perfect phrase

Opened up my mouth to holler
Every word I shouldn't say...
Then four little bicycles stopped
And every one looked my way.

I smiled and waved real awkward
Like I hadn't barked a thing
Then I tipped my hat and hollered...

"Hold my sweet tea!"

Chorus

Hold my sweet tea!
Y'all know what I mean.
Some words sound a whole lot better
When they're poured over ice, it seems.

Mama taught me better
Than losin' all my dignity
So before I say the wrong thing...

Hold my sweet tea!

---

Verse 2

Well my mower hit a hidden stump
Sent the blade clean through the belt
I was fixin' to say a sentence
That'd probably make paint peel itself

Just then Preacher Johnson
Pulled up in his old Ford truck
Rolled his window down and smiled
Said, "Need a hand, or just bad luck?"

I swallowed every syllable
That was halfway to my teeth
Then I grinned and said...

"Hold my sweet tea!"

Chorus

Hold my sweet tea!
Y'all know what I mean.
The Good Lord's still workin' on me
Though it's slower than I'd dreamed.

Some folks quote the Good Book
I quote southern hospitality
And whenever trouble finds me...

Hold my sweet tea!

---

Verse 3

Stopped by down at Miller's Market
Grabbed a loaf of bread and cheese
Dropped a pickle jar at checkout
It exploded at my feet

I was fixin' to invent
Three brand-new colorful phrases
When sweet Miss Clara smiled and said,
"Oh honey... we all have those days."

Well... how do you cuss
With eighty years of kindness starin' back at me?

So I picked up all the pieces
And whispered...

"Hold my sweet tea."

---

Bridge

Now everybody in this county
Knows exactly what it means
If they hear me yell "Sweet tea!"
They know what almost slipped between

The kids all laugh
The preacher grins
Miss Clara shakes her head
And somehow I walk away
Without regret...

Well...
Most of the time.

---

Final Chorus

Hold my sweet tea!
Before I lose my cool.
Life's got a funny way
Of makin' grown men look like fools.

I've got a long vocabulary
That'll never see daylight
'Cause there's always somebody nearby
Who reminds me to be polite.

So if you hear me holler
From somewhere 'cross the street...
Don't worry...

I ain't cussin'...

I'm just askin' somebody...

To hold...
My sweet tea!

(Spoken as the band laughs)

"...Now... y'all know good and well that ain't what I was gonna say."