Bobby Bare

[fox69]

"Willie Jones"

"Willie Jones"



Willie Jones was a man I met when I lived in Baltimore
I was a guard and he was doing time
In the three long years he stayed there I got to know him well
Willie Jones was a friend of mine.

He used to say buddy you know where I'm goin' when they let me out of here
Alabama could be heaven if the Lord was there
And he talked about the southland though he'd drifted from its shore
I never seen a man who loved it more.

He talked about the whippoorwills in the Alabama night
Honeysuckle vine and sugar cane
Swimming holes and fishing poles and early morning frost
And sleeping under a tin roof when it rained.

He talked about a country road and a cabin in the pines
And a girl with wavy long chestnut brown hair
He talked about the beauty of his Blue Ridge Mountain home
And damn near made me think that I was there.

And he'd say buddy you know where I'm goin' when they let me out of here
Alabama could be heaven if the Lord was there
When a man ain't got no freedom the time sure passes slow
Willie Jones had ten long years to go.

It's been almost a years now since that hot night in July
Willie hit the guard and jumped the fence
I had my rifle ready but I couldn't let it fly
I shot over his head and we ain't seen him since.

Then last week the postman brought a letter to my door
Marked No Return Address and No Reply
It just said nobody north of Birmingham is gonna see this boy again
But if you're ever down our way won't you please drop by.

Buddy you know where I'm goin' when they let me out of here
Alabama could be heaven if the Lord was there
When a man ain't got no freedom the time sure passes slow
Willie Jones had ten long years to go...

 

[fox69]

"Wilma Lou"

"Wilma Lou"



I watch you most every night
See you in the front porch lights
You and him sittin' in a swing
Radio playin' through the screen.

Wilma Lou, Wilma Lou
Don' let that boy put his hands on you
I can see he ain't your kind
He loves your body and not your mind.

Every night I watch you hard
A hidin' here iin the wreckin' yard
Sittin' in a rusty truck
Lettin' mosquitoes eat me up.

Wilma Lou, Wilma Lou
Don' let that boy put his hands on you
I can see he ain't your kind
He loves your body and not your mind.

Oh, Wilma Lou, you're too far away
So I sneak up behind his Chevrolet
I hunker down here in the weeds
A little closer so I can see.

I hear the June bugs in the night
See you in the front porch light
I'm goin' home, I've had enough
God sake Wilma Lou get up.

Wilma Lou, Wilma Lou
Don' let that boy put his hands on you
I can see he ain't your kind
He loves your body and not your mind.

Wilma Lou, Wilma Lou
Don' let that boy put his hands on you
I can see he ain't your kind
He loves your body and not your mind...

 

[fox69]

"Winner"

"Winner"



The hulk of a man with a beer in his hand, he looked like a drunk old fool
And I knew if I hit him right, why, I could knock him off of that stool
But everybody they said watch out, hey, that's the Tiger Man McCool
He's had the whole lotta fights and he's always come out winner
Yeah, he's a winner.

But I had myself about five too many and I walked up tall and proud
I faced his back and I faced the fact that he had never stooped or bowed
I said, Tiger Man you're a pussycat and a hush fell on the crowd
I said, let's you and me go outside and see who's the winner.

Well, he gripped the bar with one big hairy hand then he braced against the wall
He slowly looked up from his beer, my God that man was tall
He said, boy, I see you're a scrapper so just before you fall
I'm gonna tell you just a little 'bout what it means to be a winner.

He said now you see these bright white smilin' teeth. you know they ain't my own
Mine rolled away like Chicklets down the street in San Antone
But I left that person cursin', nursin' seven broken bones
And he only broke ah three of mine, that makes me the winner.

He said, now behind this grin I got a steel pin that holds my jaw in place
A trophy of my most successful motorcycle race
And each morning when I wake and touch this scar across my face
It reminds me of all I got by bein' a winner.

Now this broken back was the dyin' act of a handsome Harry Clay
That sticky Cincinnati night I stole his wife away
But that woman she gets uglier and she gets meaner every day
But I got her boy, that's what makes me a winner.

He said, you gotta speak loud when you challenge me son,
'Cause it's hard for me to hear
With this twisted neck and these migraine pains and this big ole cauliflower ear
And if it wasn't for this glass eye of mine, why, I'd shed a happy tear
To think of all that you gonna get by bein' a winner.

I got arthritic elbows boy, I got dislocated knees
From pickin' fights with thunderstorms and chargin' into trees
And my nose been broke so often I might lose if I sneeze
And son, you say you still wanna be a winner?

Now you remind me a lotta my younger days,
With your knuckles a clenchin' white
But boy I'm gonna sit right here and sip this beer all night
And if there's somethin' that you gotta gain to prove by winnin' some silly fight
Well okay, I quit, I lose, you're the winner.

So I stumbled from that barroom, not so tall and not so proud
And behind me I still hear the hoots of laughter of the crowd
But my eyes still see and my nose still works and my teeth're still in my mouth
And you know I guess that makes me the winner...

 

[fox69]

"Woman In Every Man's Life"

"Woman In Every Man's Life"



He's in some bar a drinkin' she's home alone again
He's in town buyin' rounds and laughin' with his friends
His supper's on the table still he ain't come home
She's lookin' out the window with a front porch light on.

She's the woman in every man's life
A candle in the window on the darkest night
A sister and a mother a lover and a wife
She's a woman in every man's life.

She's a standin' in the kitchen ironin' his shirt
Tears fall on the collar like little drops of hurt
When he's spent his money he'll stumble home again
And she'll get out bed and turn on light and let him in.

She's the woman in every man's life
A candle in the window on the darkest night
A sister and a mother a lover and a wife
She's a woman in every man's life.

Somehow she defends him again and again
She'll stand up to her mother and hide it from her friends
And somehow she forgives him for all he's guilty of
And that takes a lot of woman that takes a lot of love.

She's the woman in every man's life
A candle in the window on the darkest night
A sister and a mother a lover and a wife
She's a woman in every man's life.

She's the woman in every man's life
A candle in the window on the darkest night
A sister and a mother a lover and a wife
She's a woman in every man's life...

 

[fox69]

"Woman You Have Been A Friend To Me"

"Woman You Have Been A Friend To Me"



I appreciate the coffee that you made
I appreciate the shelter of your roof
I'll pay you back someday for all the kindness
And all the other liberties I took.

Although I cannot say that I have loved you
I won't forget how good it was to be
Among the people you call little darling
Hey woman, you have been a friend to me.

Woman, you have been a friend to me
And somewhere down the line I'll drink a toast
To the lady who encouraged me to try
And took me in when I was down and broke.

I hope that life holds many thrills for you
And there are great big apples on your tree
I'm sorry that I could't give you more than thanks
But woman, you have been a friend to me.

Woman, you have been a friend to me...

 

[fox69]

"Wonderful Soup Stone"

"Wonderful Soup Stone"



I swear you could taste the chicken and tomatoes
And the noodles and the marrow bone
But it really wasn't nothin' but some water and potatoes
And the wonderful wonderful soup stone.

Hangin' from a string in my momma's kitchen
Back in the hard time days
Was a little ol' stone 'bout the size of an apple
It was smooth and worn and gray.

There wasn't much food in my momma's kitchen
So whenever things got tight
Momma'd boil up some water put in the stone
Say let's have some soup tonight.

And I swear you could taste the chicken and tomatoes
And the noodles and the marrow bone
But it really wasn't nothin' but some water and potatoes
And the wonderful wonderful soup stone.

It'd been in the family for a whole lotta years
So we knew it was a nourishing thing
And I remember momma as she stirred it in the water
And we could all hear her sing.

It's a magical stone and as long as we got it
We'll never have a hungry night
Just add a little love to the wonderful soup stone
And everything'll be all right.

And I swear you could taste the chicken and tomatoes
And the noodles and the marrow bone
But it really wasn't nothin' but some water and potatoes
And the wonderful wonderful soup stone.

So it carried us all through the darkenin' days
Till finally the sunshine came
And the soup stone started in a gatherin' dust
But it hung there just the same.

But ever since then Lord the food's been plenty
And ever now and then I find
That momma in the kitchen and the wonderful soup stone
Drifts across my mind.

And again I'd taste, taste the chicken and tomatoes
And the noodles and the marrow bone
But it really wasn't nothin' but some water and potatoes
And the wonderful wonderful soup stone.

We were nourished by the wonderful soup stone.
Oh, the wonderful, wonderful soup stone...

 

[fox69]

"Woody"

"Woody"



Now the first time I saw Woody he was standing in our yard
In the spring time 1935, was pouring down real hard
He said I’ll pay for room and board, maybe a month or two
My name’s Widrow Guthrie and I’m just rambling through
But call me Woody, my friends all do
If you call me Woody I might sing a little song for you

Now it was just my mom and me, a big house all alone
My daddy had gone to fight a war just never made it home
But each night ole Woody played his guitar, make up songs to sing
And would sing that midnight special, we would make them rafters ling
And we’d get happy, but we understood
That times were hard but for a while life was good

Now mama, she took the Woody, said she like to sing in style
God, she looks so pretty
And Woody made her smile
Taught me how to cut some smoke and sing and play guitar
How to say a prayer to heaven and wish upon a star
Yea, I know Woody, mama have been rambling in the night
I was only 12 years old, I could see it in their eyes

Mama came to me one hot July day
Said our Woody’s leaving son and she wiped the tear away
And Woody said these rambling thievers are mighty heavy load
Then he picked up his guitar and his sack and rolled on down the road

Goodbye Woody, we know you feeling bad
Goodbye Woody, what a time we’ve had

Now many years come and gone and I’m old but still alive
My old mind is wondering back to the summer of ‘35

Time had taken everything but one thing I still own
I can still pick up my guitar and sing a Woody Guthrie song

This land is your land with do re mi
Let the midnight special shine his ever loving light on me

Hold on, it’s been good to know you
Cause I’m going down the road feeling bad with it

 

[fox69]

"World's Last Truck Drivin' Man"

"World's Last Truck Drivin' Man"



The year is two thousand and eighty
And hardly a highway remains
Gone are the days of the diesel
And songs about wrecks in the rain
The Macs and MacLeans have all rusted away
The Harvesters rot in the sand
And in a deserted truck stop sits Tennessee Thompson
The world's last truck drivin' man

He lit up the world's last Lucky
Got his last cup of coffee refilled
Then he stared at the sky for one final high
Took the world's last little white pill
He said world you are losin' your truckers
And your suckers do not give a damn
You're freightin' in space and there just ain't no place
For a hard ridin' truck drivin' man

The world's last truck drivin' man
His left arm is losin' its tan
The rest all went broke and just went up in smoke
He's the world's last truck drivin' man

Then he sat there and drank to old mem'ries
And Doreen sat there dryin' his tears
Doreen was the world's last truck stoppin' waitress
She was weary and worn with the years
So he put his last dime in the world's last jukebox
For the lady he'd loved for so long
And there in that deserted truck stop they danced
To the world's last truck drivin' song

Then he climbed up inside his ol' semi
And Doreen she crawled up at his side
He shifted it down and the diesel's sad sound
Said this is your last homeward ride
So he whispered 10-4 to her and the Lord
As the microphone fell from his hand
And he came to the exit marked Tennessee Thompson
The world's last truck drivin' man

He was high ballin' straight through them bright pearly gates
When behind in the dust of his rig
Come the wailin' siren of ol' Smokey McKenzie
The world's last interstate pig
Hear 'em roar see 'em fly past the clouds through the sky
On that highway that don't have an end
But you know that's heaven for Tennessee Thompson
The world's last truck drivin' man and Doreen
The world's last truck drivin' man
10-4 and gone

 

[fox69]

"Worried Man Blues"

"Worried Man Blues"



It takes a worried man to sing a worried song
It takes a worried man to sing a worried song
It takes a worried man to sing a worried song
I'm worried now but I won't be worried long.

I went across the river laid me down to sleep
I went across the river laid me down to sleep
I went across the river laid me down to sleep.
When I woke up I had shackles on my feet

Don't you know it takes a worried man to sing a worried song
It takes a worried man to sing a worried song
It takes a worried man to sing a worried song
I'm worried now but I won't be worried long.

I asked that judge what's gonna be my fine
I asked that judge what's gonna be my fine
I asked that judge what's gonna be my fine
Twenty one years on the Rocky Mountain Line.

Oh, it takes a worried man to sing a worried song
It takes a worried man to sing a worried song
It takes a worried man to sing a worried song
I'm worried now but I won't be worried long.

Well, the train I ride it's twenty one coaches long
The train I ride is twenty one coaches long
The train I ride is twenty one coaches long
The woman I love she's on that train and gone.

Oh it takes a worried man to sing a worried song
It takes a worried man to sing a worried song
It takes a worried man to sing a worried song
I'm worried now but I won't be worried long.

I'm worried now but I won't be worried long...

 

[fox69]

"Y'all Come"

"Y'all Come"



Y'all come, y'all come
Oh, y'all come to see us when you can
Y'all come, y'all come
(Oh, y'all come on over to see us now and then.)

The kinfolks're comin', comin' by the dozen
Eatin' everything from soup to hay
And right after dinner they ain't looking any thinner
And here's what you'll hear them say

Y'all come, y'all come
Oh, y'all come to see us when you can
Y'all come, y'all come
(Oh, y'all come on over to see us now and then.)

(When you live in the country everybody is your neighbor
On this one thing you can rely
They'll all come to see you and never, never leave you
Saying y'all come to see us by and by.)

Y'all come, y'all come
Oh, y'all come to see us when you can
Y'all come, y'all come
(Oh, y'all come on over to see us now and then.)

Y'all come, y'all come
Oh, y'all come to see us when you can
Y'all come, y'all come
(Oh, y'all come on over to see us now and then.)

Yeah, y'all come on over to see us now and then...