I was born in a small town in the hills of Tennessee
Kentucky raised, just a country boy and that's all I'll ever be
My daddy ran a still house to keep us kids alive
Just doin' what he had to do after mama died
The same people that called him no good
Would meet him in the back woods for a little taste
He said I may take your money but don't put yourself above me
Don't cut me down as you walk away

You don't know me you don't know who I am
You don't know the pain that I've been through
So don't judge me till you stand where I stand
I don't need you or anyone else to approve
Cause the blood in these veins is tried and true

I left home at sixteen with a guitar on my back
With everything I called my own I carried in a paper sack
Spent years of havin' nothin' and sleepin' in my car
I'd drive all day and play all night
In the honky tonks and bars

The same people that called me crazy
Said I'm too lazy to amount to anything
Are the first ones to the stage just beggin' for a little taste
Who say you knew me when nobody knew my name but

You don't know me you don't know who I am
You don't know the pain that I've been through
So don't judge me till you stand where I stand
I don't need you or anyone else to approve
Cause the blood in these veins is tried and true

The same people that called me crazy
Said I'm too lazy to amount to anything
Are the first ones to the stage just beggin' for a little taste
Who say you knew me when nobody knew my name but

You don't know me you don't know who I am
You don't know the pain that I've been through
So don't judge me till you stand where I stand
I don't need you or anyone else to approve
Cause the blood in these veins is tried and true

The blood in these veins is tried and true