Of all the things to do to a friend You hurt them by your tongue. Relationships will fatally end Without a knife or gun. Waitin' till you 're back behind them, Then you put them down How could you be talkin' 'bout them When they're not around? Don't be talkin' 'bout friends when they're not around Don't be cuttin' their hearts and puttin' them down. Don't be temptin' the Lord and makin' Him frown, Don't be talkin' 'bout your friends when they're not around. How all the gossip falls on our ears It doesn't make much sense, How we can cause the innocent tears, Not helping their defense. Listening, we all should fear it, Listening is wrong. If there were no one to hear it It could not go on. Too many friendships have been broken By just a simple, careless word spoken. Don't be talkin' down, throwin' down, cuttin' down friends Why not treat them more like friends (when they're not around)? Don't be saying lots of things, overlook the hurt it brings Don't be talkin' bout your friends (when they're not around). Scriptural Reference: "A perverse man stirs up dissention, And a gossip separates close friends." Proverbs 16: 28