[Verse 1]
Caroline Radcliffe, just fifteen
Way too young to know what love means
But the July heat, some muscadine wine
And the words he said made her cross the line
On a homemade quilt in the pale moonlight
He swore he'd love her 'til the day he died

[Chorus]
Caroline
A secret is the tie that binds
Caroline
You laid beneath the Georgia pines
True love is the forever kind

[Verse 2]
The promises he made that night
Faded with the morning light
He just used her and he told he so
Left her like trash at the side of the road
She alone would bear the shame
It was early spring when the baby came

[Chorus]
Caroline
A secret is the tie that binds
Caroline
You laid beneath the Georgia pines
True love is the forever kind
[Verse 3]
When her daddy found out, he went off
Yelling out threats like rifle shot
"I know you can't be the one to blame
Tell me now, what's his name?"

[Verse 4]
Two wrongs don't make a right
But a fire burned in the woods that night
She could see the blood soaking up his jeans
He smelled like smoke and gasoline
Five bullets left in a six-shooter gun
She said, "Daddy, what have you done"

[Chorus]
Caroline
A secret is the tie that binds
Caroline
He lays beneath the Georgia pines
True love is the forever kind

[Outro]
A secret is the tie that binds
True love is the forever kind