Tom T. Hall

[fox69]

"Senior Citizen Star"

"Senior Citizen Star"


On the floor of the limo there's a bottle of whiskey
A white Stetson hat with a fine feather band
His face covered up with the two day old paper
He's a songwriter legend that grey haired old man
They don't say much to him he don't say much to them
They wonder what goes on inside his old head
Sometimes when they shake him tryin' to wake him
He comes round so slowly they think that he's dead
And you're not allowed to talk about Denver Colorado
You're not allowed to talk about his first wife Joanne
You're not allowed to talk about his first fiddle player
Or anybody who ever worked in Elvis's band

He motions the driver to get him some coffee
He sits there and sips it his eyes on the floor
When he's readin' his paper he sometimes looks angry
He's still tryin' to figure out the Second World War
He mentions Chicago the Opry and Wheeling
His awards are all stacked in the box in his barn
He made millions of dollars with a hoop and a holler
Now he lives in a trailer on a five acre farm
And you're not allowed to talk about...

As the limo rolls on down the America's highways
Just frames to the sign on the side of his car
It says pickin' and singin' for any occasion the songwrittin' senior citizen star

 

[fox69]

"Shame On The Rain"

"Shame On The Rain"


Shame on the rain for making me twice as blue
It's raining in my heart on my window too
Days just like this have put out the flame
I've got that smoke in my eyes shame on the rain
You'd think it's enough just to know that she's gone
With my kind of luck it will rain from now on
After I'd lost such a heartbreaking game
You'd think the sun would shine shame on the rain

Shame on the rain for adding to my unrest she took the sun it figures I guess
I have my share of sorrow and pain look what a day it is shame on the rain
Look what a day it is shame on the rain

 

[fox69]

"She Gave Her Heart To Jethro"

"She Gave Her Heart To Jethro"


I guess you know jethro went crazy; we've all been crazy sometimes
They fixed up his lungs and his fever; but they could not fix up his mind
He married a beautiful redhead; of women they say she's a pearl
She gave her heart to jethro, and her body to the whole damn world

Well, jethro had someone to talk to; they were monsters and little green men
He never talked to his woman; naw, he spent all his time with his friends
In the evenings she'd drive off and leave him; she tossed back her long, pretty curls
She gave her heart to jethro, and her body to the whole damn world

Some friends came and begged her to leave him; they said, "jethro belongs in a home."
She said, "my heart is jethro's, but my god-given body is my own."
Now some of her lovers were strangers; she gave everybody a whirl
She gave her heart to jethro, and her body to the whole damn world

I know some will condemn me for writin' this song of a man and his wife
A man's not writin' if he can't relate all the things that he sees in his life
I know some will condemn me for cursin', but much can be said for this girl
Who gave her heart to ol' jethro, and her body to the whole damn world

 

[fox69]

"Ships Go Out"

"Ships Go Out"


Ships go out I see them every day
Ships go out I watch them sail away
And on the decks I see my smiling friends
Ships go out but they never do come in

Ships go out I watch them disappear
Ships go out and leave me standing here
And I don't know if that's where life begins
Ships go out but they never do come in

When life is cheap it never seems to last
When life is sweet it seems to go too fast
So on the dock I tell the idle wind
Ships go out but they never do come in

Ships go out onto the seas so high
Ships go out beneath an endless sky
And on the shore is where their stories end
Ships go out but they never do come in

When life is cheap it never seems to last...
Ships go out

 

[fox69]

"Shoes And Dress That Alice Wore"

"Shoes And Dress That Alice Wore"


Mhm I'm humming as I walk this house and do my daily chores
When I put the broom away I see the dress that Alice wore
It's hanging in the closet sadly sagging without form
Empty dress there in the closet held a body soft and warm
Shoes and dress that Alice wore

It's the dress she wore the night she caught me lying there beside
Some strange woman meaning nothing just some bones and hair and hide
I could not explain it to her and I cannot to this day
Now I stand here staring at the dress she wore to go away
Shoes and dress that Alice wore

And the shoes are red and shiny and they're modest in the heel
And the dress a bad investment and the color could be teal
She went screaming from the room where I lay blinking in the nude
With the woman there beside me saying ain't this woman rude
Shoes and dress that Alice wore

So I asked the undertaker in a private kind of way
Before you close the casket when our friends have gone away
If it's not too strange to reason I would make one last request
Since it all goes in the ground I'd like to have the shoes and dress
Shoes and dress that Alice wore

So I'm humming as I walk this house...

 

[fox69]

"Shoeshine Man"

"Shoeshine Man"


Well I met a man in Montgomery Alabama
I was waitin' on a bus and he was shinin' shoes and I heard him say

I'm a shoeshine man number one in the land
A shoeshine man make you shine where you stand
Leave me a tip if you can I'm a shoeshine man

Well I can sing I can dance I can play the harmonica too
I got a brand new thing on the South Side Montgomery Blues
You better stick around and watch me cause I'm an entertainin' fool
I'm a shoeshine man number one in the land...

Well I learned my trade from that rag-poppin' daddy o'mine
He shined twelve alligators made a hundred dollar bill one time
And when the meat gets scarce I shine two or three pairs for a dime
I'm a shoeshine man number one in the land...

I had a girl that helped me she had a lotta hoochy coochy ways
She was bumping and grinding paid that girl a dollar a day
But she was shy on age and the law come and took her away
I'm a shoeshine man number one in the land...

 

[fox69]

"Sing A Little Baby To Sleep"

"Sing A Little Baby To Sleep"


Too doo dup too doo doo doo doo doo...
You're just a little baby boy six months old lying in your mama's lap
I'm sittin' here thinkin' of a song I could sing to get you to take a nap
You were born on the part of the river of life where the water is troubled and deep
This day and time there are not many songs to sing a little baby to sleep
Too doo dup too doo doo doo doo doo...
I search my mind for a proper subject to set down the reason and rhyme
And I got to thinking it might have been better to be born at some other time
I know you're tired and I know you're weary and I don't like to see you weep
But there just don't seem to be any songs going to sing a little baby to sleep
Too doo dup too doo doo doo doo doo...
I'll rock your cradle and your mama will croon that's all the comfort we know
You need a song you can keep on singing cause you've got a long way to go
Faith writes the words and love writes the music and hope can establish the beat
Your generation might know a song to sing a little baby to sleep
Too doo dup too doo doo doo doo doo...

 

[fox69]

"Singer's Song"

"Singer's Song"


Now that I know what I know why did the learning come so slow
There are deeds that I have done there in the songs I've sung
And no building stands with my name on the side
I've left no trails for little kids to ride
God had his wish and I had mine he gave me words and I made them rhyme
If there's good in what I bring it's in the songs I sing

So let me sing and go on by build your castles to the sky
I make mine with words and tones and so I work alone
And no building stands...

 

[fox69]

"Sky Blue True"

"Sky Blue True"


If you ever worry will I be true don't you worry I'll be true
And I'll be true sky blue true I'll be true sky blue true

As blue as the skies as blue as your eyes
As bright as the sun as sweet as you hon
I'll be true sky blue true

If you ever wonder do I love you don't you wonder I love you
And I'll be true sky blue true I'll be true sky blue true

As blue as the skies...

And when the sun sets over our lives we'll be together beyond the skies
And I'll be true eternally true I'll be true sky blue true

 

[fox69]

"Sneaky Snake"

"Sneaky Snake"


Boys and girls take warning, if you go near the lake
Keep your eyes wide open, and look for sneaky snake
Now maybe you won't see him, and maybe you won't hear
But he'll sneak up behind you, and drink all of your root beer

And then sneaky snake goes dancing, wigglin' and a-hissin'
Sneaky snake goes dancin', a-gigglin' and a-kissin'
I don't like old sneaky snake; he laughs too much you see
When he goes wigglin' through the grass, it tickles his underneath

Well, sneaky snake drinks root beer, and he just makes me sick
When he is not dancing, he looks just like a stick
he doesn't have any arms or legs, you cannot see his ears
And while we are not lookin', he's stealin' all of our root beer

And then sneaky snake goes dancing, wigglin' and a-hissin'
Sneaky snake goes dancin', a-gigglin' and a-kissin'
I don't like old sneaky snake; he laughs too much you see
When he goes wigglin' through the grass, it tickles his underneath