They were both made of leather
Both black and frayed and worn
I was brought up to respect them
Since the day that I was born
One came here from England
It's been handed down for years
The other one was ordered from
A catalog at Sears
One my mamma read to me till I was well into my teens
And I thought all the other one was for
Was to hold up daddy's jeans
Till' I told a lie and learned it had another purpose too
Out behind the shed my daddy said
This'll hurt me more than you
Cause one had my daddy's name on it
And the other said King James
With love it taught us lessons
But we feared them both the same
One led us to Heaven and the other left a welt
Those were the days when kids were raised with a Bible and a belt
I remember when I was twelve
I stole a dime store comic book
How mamma read where the scripture said to take back what I took
When I refused my daddy grabbed my arm and said c'mon
I needed more he knew than just Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John
We'll sometimes it made me cry
Sometimes it made me fightin' mad
I'd wish I'd have been raised without them
Like some other children had
But now I'm grown with kids of my own
And I know just how they felt
Ya know it seems to me
What the world still needs
Is a bible and a belt
Cause one had my daddy's name on it
The other said King James
With love it taught us lessons
But we feared them both the same
One led us to Heaven
And the other hurt like he'll
Those were the days when kids were raised with a bible and a belt
A bible
And a belt