Tom T. Hall

[fox69]

"Subdivision Blues"

"Subdivision Blues"


Out on the edge of town I bought a two room brick
Moved in as soon as I got the plumbin' all fixed
Making them payments worked my fingers to the bone
Anything I had to do to get myself a home
There was water in the basement it looked like a swimming pool
The man said son that water'll help to keep your cottage cool
The Welcome Wagon brought me out some sleepin' pills and booze
I got the mean old subdivision blues
Somebody came and knocked my fence down just the other day
Tore up my yard and hauled my lawnmower away
Shot out my windows with the BB gun
A buggsy down the street came by and beat up my son
So I went out and bought myself a big old German dog
The man behind me saw me and he started raisin' hogs
A nineteen year old girl next door is sunnin' in the nude
I got those mean old subdivision blues
But I bought my house because it was located near a school
Now a bus comes by and takes my kids to Istambul
The guy next door just bought his son a brand new saxophone
The man behind me sued him cause his hogs were leavin' home
My buddy left his wife now he's livin' in a tent
A hippie sued me cause I did not have a room to rent
They built a trailer park before I had a chance to move
I got them mean old subdivision blues

Well I moved out in the country just as far as I could go
I couldn't even get the Grand Ole Opry on the radio
I guess you know what happened just as soon as I moved in
The man across the valley started clearin' off this land
The law came out and said that I would have to move my barn
They said the man next door was gonna subdivide his farm
They auctioned off my farm to build the state another school
I got the mean old subdivision blues
Well other night I dreamed I died and I went right straight to hell
I don't know what I did but you know you can never tell
They handed me a key and handed me a little map
They said you got a place to live we'll show you where it's at
They took me to a two room brick just on the edge of town
With thirty thousand other little houses falling down
A million years to pay it off with payments overdue
It's hell to have the subdivision blues got those mean old subdivision blues

 

[fox69]

"Texas Never Fell In Love With Me"

"Texas Never Fell In Love With Me"


It wasn't much but I sold it all and I moved to San Antone
Knowing in my heart that Texas had to be my home
I fell in love with Texas I was happy I was free but Texas never fell in love with me
I found out my style just didn't suit the local squirrels
I found out that I can't fit into a cowboy world
I'm back in Indiana just as lonesome as can be Texas never fell in love with me

I bought myself a cowboy hat of course it didn't fit
I bought myself a case of Coor's and I used to drink and sip
I watch the cowgirls come and go Lord don't they love to play
The one I wanted never came my way
I found out my style...
Texas never fell in love with me

 

[fox69]

"Thank You Connersville Indiana"

"Thank You Connersville Indiana"


I rolled into Connersville in 1961 with what was left of my last army pay
I had a letter with me from a buddy living there
He said you stop and see me if you're ever up this way
Need I say he was surprised to find me at his door
With what I guess you'd call a silly grin
He said where are you headed and I said I'm headed here
His Mama said don't stand there you'll catch cold just come on in
They gave me room and board I paid a very modest fee
Then I went looking for a place to play
If you've ever had a hat and didn't wear one then you'll know
The way a country singer made a living in those days
The menu printed on the window of the bar and grill
The man said we're too small to have a band
I said well I'll just pick and sing and pass my hat awhile
He said go right ahead but you just do the best you can
Well after seven hours of Cheatin' Heart and Wildwood Flower
I had me seven dollars eighty cents
I gave it to a waitress who was gonna have a baby
She said she needed just that much to help her pay the rent

Later on I formed a band and really hit the big time
Ten bucks a night for working at the time
We worked through winter gardens and some other choice nightspots
Looking back I have to say those were the good ole times
Summer came and me and old Mitch Mitchell fished White River
And caught those big ole juicy channel cats
Sometimes when I'm ridin' on the jet plane going somewhere
I get to thinking that I'd like to live a life like that
So thank you Connersville and thanks to you old Indiana
You took me in when I knew slimmer days
I won't forget you and I hope that you will not forget me
And you folks stop and see me if you're ever down this way

 

[fox69]

"Thanksgiving Is"

"Thanksgiving Is"


You gotta be thankful for the Bible Jesus and your mom and dad
For your bike and for your clothes and for your butter and for your bread
For your shoes and socks and underthings and all the clothes you wear
And be thankful for your nose and your hair that's what thankgiving is

You gotta be thankful for your eyes and ears and fingers and your hands
For your legs and for your arms and for the folks who understand
For your music and your books and for your teachers and your school
And be thankful that you're warm and that you're cool that's what thankgiving is

You gotta be thankful for your food and for the turkey and the ham
Gotta be thankful for the milk and cookies jelly and the jam
For the road and for the car and for the bus and for the drive
And you really gotta be thankful you're alive that's what thankgiving is

You gotta be thankful for the sun and moon and wind and rain and air
For the bed and for the bath and for the table and the chairs
For the friends and for the toys and TV and the radio
And be thankful that your record player goes that's what thankgiving is

You gotta be thankful for your dog and for your cat and for your horse
You gotta be thankful for the fish and for the pretty birds of course
You gotta be thankful for the flowers and the forest and the lawn
Well you understand we could go on and on

 

[fox69]

"That Song Is Driving Me Crazy"

"That Song Is Driving Me Crazy"


That song is driving me crazy I gotta hear it again
First time I heard it I was with some friends
It's a simple little song you can sing along with an old time melody
So would you play that crazy little song again for me
That song is driving me crazy...

I love that part about break my heart and baby please come home
And I love that line about hurtin' my mind and my beer ain't got no foam
That song is driving me crazy...

Well you'll sing high and I'll sing low and everybody sing along
But everybody quit while I get my kick singin' bring that boogie home
Mhm that song is a driving me crazy...
Okay gang well that song is driving me crazy...
That song is driving me crazy...

 

[fox69]

"That'll Be All Right With Me"

"That'll Be All Right With Me"


It's not my sun man and if it's not shinin'
When I wake up tomorrow morning hmm that'll be all right with me
They're not my birds man and if they're not singin'
When I wake up tomorrow morning hmm that'll be all right with me
I don't believe I'm where I'm goin' I find many a mile
If you don't like me help me to change I'm still looking for a style

She's just a woman if she should be gone
When I wake up tomorrow morning hmm that'll be all right with me
Well I'm not a brave man but I'm not a slave man
If all I ever am is free that'll be all right with me
I don't believe I'm where I'm goin'...

 

[fox69]

"That's How I Got To Memphis"

"That's How I Got To Memphis"


If you love somebody enough
You'll follow wherever they go
That's how I got to Memphis
That's how I got to Memphis

If you love somebody enough
You'll go where your heart wants to go
That's how I got to Memphis
That's how I got to Memphis
I know if you'd seen her you'd tell me 'cause you are my friend
I've got to find her and find out the trouble she's in

If you tell me that she's not here
I'll follow the trail of her tears
That's how I got to Memphis
That's how I got to Memphis

She would get mad and she used to say
That she'd come back to Memphis someday
That's how I got to Memphis
That's how I got to Memphis

I haven't eaten a bite
Or slept for three days and nights
That's how I got to Memphis
That's how I got to Memphis

I've got to find her and tell her that I love her so
I'll never rest 'til I find out why she had to go

Thank you for your precious time
Forgive me if I start to cryin'
That's how I got to Memphis [x8]

 

[fox69]

"That's Why You Have To Be You"

"That's Why You Have To Be You"


You know you can't live in the water you'd just be wet all the time
Your hands would get wrinkled your face would turn blue
And you'd wind up on somebody's line
That's why you can't be a fish water is not what you do
That's why you can't be a fish that's why you have to be you

You know you can't live in the air why you'd be in the clouds all the time
You'd get dizzy from being so high and you must have wings if you fly
So that's why you can't be a bird flying is not what you do
That's why you can't be a bird that's why you have to be you

You know you can't live in a tree for one thing the trees're too tall
There's nothing to eat in a tree and there's always a chance you could fall
That's why you can't be a squirrel climbing is not what you do
That's why you can't be a squirrel that's why you have to be you
But it's okay to be you just being yourself you'll go far
It's really okay to be you I love you the way you are (ain't we great)

 

[fox69]

"The Adventures Of Linda Bohannon"

"The Adventures Of Linda Bohannon"


In a town about the size of a truckstop or bigger
Lived Linda Bohannon, a natural queen
She lived with her folks in a little white farmhouse
She helped out by hoeing the corn and the beans

Sometimes she would stare at herself in a mirror
And any would say there was much to admire
Every turn of the curve of her body was flawless
From pretty white teeth to her shiny blond hair

One day as she stood by the road leading westward
In blue jeans and t-shirt and mail-order boots
The tractors and trailers and pick-ups saw Linda
The drivers all slowed down to holler and hoot

They received not a smile from miss Linda Bohannon
No bag and no brush did she hold in her hand
Just Linda Bohannon, a physical treasure
Stepped into a light-blue Mercedes Benz

And this is one of those times that we wish we knew the missing parts to these stories, but this is all we know

She was missing a week and her parents were worried
She called Sunday morning and said, "I'm okay"
Well Bohannons don't talk much, but we found out later
She called from a movie star's house in L.A.

She's home now and been here for six years or seven
She brought home a baby, a fine-looking lad
Well Bohannons don't talk much, and Linda don't either
And nobody told us a thing about his dad

Well she's pretty as ever and she works in a giftshop
Looks after her boy and she don't ask for help
She watches the re-runs of an old TV western
And the boy looks a lot like a re-run himself.

 

[fox69]

"The Carter Boys"

"The Carter Boys"


The carter boys were born one after another in a little old country place
I was the last and the death of my mother and I know it was a pretty bad trade
We'd get to drinking and I'd do the singing, they taught me to chase girls and cuss
We'd play poker, I'd do the dealing I was the only one we could trust

[Chorus:]
And there were six of us all together
And that's how we stood all the time
Six of us all together
The carter boys were brothers of mine

We had an old car that we kept tied together with pieces of baling wire and hope

They knew when we got there, they knew when we left, they could tell by the noise and the smoke
Anytime the sheriff had nothing to do he'd get out and chase us around
The old women prayed, the old men laughed and the middle-aged people all frowned

[Chorus]

Daddy was a preacher and the lord knows he tried, gave us everything he could afford
We lost a lot of battles but daddy always said the only thing we feared was the lord
Well as I look back through the long lean years, I wonder how we ever survived
All that hard work, all of those women, and all those pistols and knives

[Chorus x2]