Tom T. Hall

[fox69]

"Kentucky, February 27, 1971"

"Kentucky, February 27, 1971"


There were signs beside the road like "Jesus Saves"
And "Relieve yourself the fast and gentle way"
I was lookin' for an old man who lived way back in these hills
Who just might have a story I could tell

Pretty soon the blacktop disappeared
I felt the car change to a lower gear
I took a drink of liquor just to chase away the chill
I was 27 miles from Olive Hill

Ahead I saw the bridge where I turned right
A dirt road led straight up a mountainside
I pulled up to a farmhouse I thought I had seen before
An old man and his dog were at the door

They told me this old-timer knew this land
I told him, "Sir, I just don't understand
Why the kids in this state just grow up and move away
And leave the land where they were born and raised."

He said, "Son, you can't make it on this land
Unless you're happy workin' with your hands
There ain't no kids today that wanna stay and work it out
They wanna see the things they hear about."

He said, "I cleared this whole farm off myself
And I'd work it now but time has got my health."
Then starin' out the window restin' in his easy chair
He told me what I'd really come to hear

"You know, son, people used to tell their kids
'Now, I don't want you to have to work the way I did.'
They don't and some will tell you that it's a shame
But you have to think before you place the blame."

I guess we must have talked for half a day
'Til I told him that I'd best be on my way
He shook my hand and said, "I'm glad I met you, Mr. Hall
But I guess there ain't no song here after all."

 

[fox69]

"L.A. Blues"

"L.A. Blues"


I got off the airplane 'long about 7:30 in LA
What a drag to realize that everything's so different and so same
All my California friends are searching for their minds
And it's been right there in their heads all the time
LA blues LA blues you want me to be like you ha ha there ain't no way

California Charlie met me at my room when I got in
We toasted country picking and the help of all our good and mutual friends
Before the morning came we put a handle on the world
And decided that we'd give it to the squirrels
LA blues LA blues you want me to be like you ha ha there ain't no way

Soaking up that sunshine and eatin' eggs and bacon over light
Sleeping through the daytime and contemplatin' sin thru'out the night
Please hand me my hat and darling give me back my things
Ole T's got a bunch of songs to sing
LA blues LA blues you want me to be like you ha ha there ain't no way

I like California and I wouldn't want to put it down no way
But I heard what you're thinking and it ain't exactly what I want to say
Someday California I'll come roarin' back to you
If you don't fall in the ocean before I do
LA blues LA blues you want me to be like you ha ha there ain't no way

 

[fox69]

"Last Country Song"

"Last Country Song"


It's the last country song by the last country band in the last honky tonk in the world
It's the last country dance on the last hardwood floor
For the last country boy and girl
And there will be no more steel guitars and fiddle
If the people don't know what they're worth
It's the last country tune beneath the last country moon
For the last country people on earth

It's the last country song on the last country jukebox by the last country singer alive
It's the last country tear in the last cold beer it's the last country song that survive
There will be no more mandolins and banjos that St John has torn us apart
It's the last country song on the last country station
For they've broken the last country heart

 

[fox69]

"Last Hard Town"

"Last Hard Town"


Woke up on a bus and heard the driver say friends fill it up with No 2
Wondered where I was and wondered what today would be demanding me to do
It's not for me the last cause I'm just goin' where life's sendin' me I guess
The thing that keeps us goin' is the good folks in the last hard town we met
I sat pickin' on my guitar till I saw the new sun comin' through the skies
Ain't it funny how the truth is sometimes written on an artificial high
Carry water from the well untill you know that all the children are refreshed
The thing that keeps us goin' is the good folks in the last hard town we met
We were drinking too much yesterday nobody's ever told us what's enough
The ones that we should've prayed for more than likely were the ones we had to cuss
They applauded as we killed ourselves but angels don't have bourbon on their breath
The thing that keeps us goin' is the good folks in the last hard town we met

They came to see the people that they thought we were and never changed their minds
They explained the way that difference caused the folks who love a picker can be blind
They misunderstood the words but understood that our intentions were the best
The thing that keeps us goin' is the good folks in the last hard town we met
What a picker does for others is the thing he's mainly doing for himself
There were friends and there were neighbors
But the good homes that we came from didn't help
If there's anything you'd like to say about us after we have gone to rest
We would like someone to mention all the good folks in the last hard town we met

 

[fox69]

"Legend Of The Lady Bear"

"Legend Of The Lady Bear"


Gather round me boys and fill your coffee cups
I'll tell you all a story while you drive them trucks
A story bout a girl who joined the state patrol
The legend of the Lady Bear is how it goes
She married some young trucker she was in her teens
And like all newly weds they had their hopes and dreams
And one night in a snowstorm so the story went
She lost her loving husband in an accident
They say she sat and cried for him a year or more
And all she did was think of him and walk the floor
She'd lie there in her bed at night alone and cold
Until one day she joined the highway state patrol

Well they say she has a CB and she's on the air
And she goes by the handle of the Lady Bear
She never gives a ticket and she works at night
All she does is tell the story of her life
I've heard some truckers say there ain't no Lady Bear
And others say she don't work when the weather's fair
But when the weather's bad she's on the air all night
Begging us to slow down till the weather's right
Well you know I love this story well it could be true
If you're ever in a snowstorm tell you what to do
If you should hear the Lady Bear on your radio
Well tell her I wrote this song and said hello

 

[fox69]

"Let's Play Remember"

"Let's Play Remember"


Let's play remember, let's play remember
Remember the way that it's played

Remember the day that we went to the moon
We went to the moon in the middle of June
And as we blew over we met an old [?]
I know you remember that now

Let's play remember, let's play remember
Remember the way that it's played

Remember the time we were seven feet tall
We used to pick apples and play basket ball
Our beds were too short so we slept on the floor
And you bumped your head on the door

Let's play remember, let's play remember
Remember the way that it's played

Remember the time that we dressed up like clowns
Our smiles were real big and our noses were round
We didn't get hurt every time we fell down
I know you remember the clown

Remember the time we were both on TV
And every one said that they love you and me
We sang and we dance, and we played and we grim
And they told us they loved us again

Remember the time we were both millionaires
We didn't have worries, we didn't have cares
We fed all the hungry, the poor and the weak
Next day we were back on the street

Oh well, let's play remember, let's play remember
Remember the way that it's played

 

[fox69]

"Little Brown Suitcase"

"Little Brown Suitcase"


A little brown suitcase at the top of the stairs
Not much to start with and worse for the wear
Mama said Virgil let's thow that away he said no it might come in handy some day
Well first there was Billy Joe then there was Jack
They took that old suitcase but all brought it back
Now some went a ridin' and some had to walk
But Lord if that little brown suitcase could talk
Well my brother Quentin the one with a smile
He took that old suitcase and he went to Ohio
And he brought it back on Christmas full of toys and things
And some Bill Monroe records that I soon learned to sing
Well that was the year of 57 and the month of July
When I took that old suitcase and I joined the GI's
I followed the pattern set down by the rest
On the inside of the cover I wrote my address
Well my folks are passed on now I don't know where it's at
You know Betty might know cause she keeps things like that
And when dad gets to heaven mom won't be alarmed
If he got that old suitcase tucked under his arms

 

[fox69]

"Little Green Flower With The Yellow On Top"

"Little Green Flower With The Yellow On Top"


The little green flower with the yellow on top
You told me the name but I soon forgot
I know roses and forget-me-nots what's that little green flower with the yellow on top

We got married in a little white church I had a big red rose on my shirt
You had some flowers but you gave them away
And the little green flower was bloomin' that day
It's that little green flower...

Remember the night that I came home drunk
Stopped in the driveway got you a bunch
You got mad said they shouldn't be picked
They were there next morning when I woke up sick
It's that little green flower...

It's been a long time since I gave you that ring
You often said I didn't know a bloomin' thing
But happy anniversary and look what I got
Some little green flowers with the yellow on top

 

[fox69]

"Local Flowers"

"Local Flowers"


I have traveled this world over I have rambled all my days
When my journeys have all ended place some flowers on my grave
Local flowers just some daisies wildwood flowers from the hills
Where I will spend my eternal hours lay me down with local flowers

Please don't buy those red carnations I don't need the lilies fair
Just go walking on the mountain gather what is blooming there
Rosemary means that you'll remember clover's sweet as the love we shared
Myrtle says that you will miss me rambling roses say you cared
Local flowers just some daisies...

Let the bird sing from the tree tops let the grass grow where it may
No arrangements no bright ribbons just a simple wild bouquet
Local flowers just some daisies...

 

[fox69]

"Loneliest Girl In The Crowd"

"Loneliest Girl In The Crowd"


She's got to be the loneliest girl in the crowd
How can she look so sad when the music is playing so loud
Maybe she's waitin' on someone who'll make her feel proud
She's got to be the loneliest girl in the crowd
I took a chance and I asked her to dance but she put me down
While I was a lookin' for a big ole smile I found a big ole frown
So loving looking so calm and she's so well endowed
She's got to be the loneliest girl in the crowd

Somebody hurt her I don't understand it's so wrong
Why is she here she's mixing her tears with my happy song
She looks like an angel who just came down out of the clouds
But she's got to be the loneliest girl in the crowd
I took a chance...
She's got to be the loneliest girl...