Intro :
I was l aying on my belly in the m iddle of the living room f loor
I was w atching Howdy Doody so I'm g uessing it was right around f our
When I s aw my baby brother t umbling from the top of the s tairs
He was l ying limp and silent and the b lood was trickling through his shiny h air
When my mom s aw my little brother she said you b etter run and get your d ad
And her v oice was high and she was s haking so I knew this was b ad
Well we s tood out by the mailbox watching h er and dad and brother drive aw ay
And I d idn't waste no time I got down o n my knees right there and I began to pray
Well I p rayed into the evening never e ven took the time to have a b ite
I was s ure if I prayed hard en ough that God would make it r ight
We were a t the kitchen table long past b edtime when we finally g ot that call
And I k new that it was over when my s ister slammed that phone against the w all
T hat night I learned how n ot to pray
G od does what h e wants to a ny way
And I never did tell my m other
I k ept it from my sisters and all my b rothers
That was the night I learned how not to p ray
It was 4 1 years later when I took my brothers p icture out of that box
H ung it on the wall sat ac ross from him and I began to t alk
W hen the evening started I d idn't know what I was going to s ay
But bef ore the night was over I told them a ll about how I learned not to p ray
T hat night I learned how n ot to pray
G od does what G od wants to don't he any way
And I never did tell my m other
I k ept it from my sisters and all my b rothers
That was the night I learned how not to p ray
That was the night I l earned how not to p ray W hoa oh
That was the night I l earned how not to p ray
