John Prine — The Bottomless Lake

Here's the story of a man and his family And a big trip that they took Well, I heard all about it in a restaurant And I read it in a history book They rented a car at the Erie Canal But the car didn't have no brake Said Ma to Pa, "my God, this car's Gonna fall into the bottomless lake" Well, mama turned to daddy with a pale face Said, "I've done something horribly wrong Well, the waters still running in the bathtub And I think I left the kitchen light on" Then I heard a crash, the car went splash And the compass rolled around and around Oh, for Heaven's sake, we fell in a lake And I think we're all gonna drown We are falling down Down to the bottom of a hole in the ground Smoke 'em if you got 'em I'm so scared, I can hardly breathe I may never see my sweetheart again There was plenty of food in the backseat And the windows was rolled up tight So we all nibbled on a chicken leg Told stories way through the night Well, Pa told one that he told before And the baby got a bellyache Said Ma to Pa, "My God this car Is falling down a Bottomless Lake" We are falling down Down to the bottom of a hole in the ground Smoke 'em if you got 'em I'm so scared, I can hardly breathe I may never see my sweetheart again Papa played the music on the radio Mama rocked the baby to sleep He said he would've taken the other road But he didn't think the lake was that deep Well, if the ferry'd been there at the end of the pier We'd be half way to Uncle Jake's Instead of looking at fish out the window I wish we'd hit the bottom of the bottomless lake Instead of looking at fish out the window I wish we'd hit the bottom of the bottomless lake We are falling down Down to the bottom of a hole in the ground Smoke 'em if you got 'em I'm so scared, I can hardly breathe I may never see my sweetheart again So if you're ever goin' on a big trip You better be careful out there Start everything on your good foot Wear clean underwear Take along a Bible in the backseat Read of David and of Solomon For if you make a mistake in the bottomless lake You may never see your sweetheart again If you should make a mistake in the bottomless lake You may never see your sweetheart again If you should make a mistake in the bottomless lake You may never see your sweetheart again