Tom T. Hall

[fox69]

"The Year That Clayton Delaney Died"

"The Year That Clayton Delaney Died"


I remember the year that Clayton Delaney died
They said for the last two weeks that he suffered and cried
It made a big impression on me, although I was a barefoot kid
They said he got religion at the end and I'm glad that he did

Clayton was the best guitar picker in our town
I thought he was a hero and I used to follow Clayton around
I often wondered why Clayton, who seemed so good to me
Never took his guitar and made it down in tenn-o-see

Well, daddy said he drank a lot, but I could never understand
I knew he used to pick up in Ohio with a five-piece band
Clayton used to tell me, "son you better put that old guitar away,
There ain't no money in it, it'll lead you to an early grave."

I guess if I'd admit it, Clayton taught me how to drink booze
I can see him half-stoned a-pickin' out the lovesick blues
When Clayton died I made him a promise, I was gonna carry on somehow
I'd give a hundred dollars if he could only see me now

I remember the year that Clayton Delaney died
Nobody ever knew it but I went out in the woods and I cried
Well, I know there's a lotta big preachers that know a lot more than I do
But it could be that the good lord likes a little pickin' too
Yeah, I remember the year that Clayton Delaney died

 

[fox69]

"There Is A Miracle In You"

"There Is A Miracle In You"


There is a miracle in you in what you are and what you do
If anything at all in life is true there is a miracle in you
You can be anything a president of course
A nurse or a fireman or someone important on a horse
There's adventure and a future bright and blue there is a miracle in you

There is a magic in your smile you'll spend a season as a child
Bless you go and grow and see and do there is a miracle in you
You can do anything you want from here to there
Fly on a spaceship or maybe you can wrestle with a bear
You're what the world is coming to there is a miracle in you

 

[fox69]

"Time Takes Care Of A Few Things (Love Takes Care Of The Rest)"

"Time Takes Care Of A Few Things (Love Takes Care Of The Rest)"


Time takes care of a few things love takes care of the rest
Cheer up my lady cheer up my friend there's no reason for you to look so depressed
I'd like to be perfect I know you would too we're only human I guess
Time takes care of a few things love takes care of the rest

Life has its problems they come and they go
When troubles are dropped at you door
I'll come and get some and haul them away
That's what an imperfect good friend is for
Time takes care of a few things...

We're trying each day to be better some way to do what life asks us to do
It's just a contest it's just a trap you're better than me and I'm better than you
Time takes care of a few things love takes care of the rest

 

[fox69]

"Too Many Do-Goods"

"Too Many Do-Goods"


We got too many do goods and not enough hard working men
We got too many hands out and not enough lendin' a hand
We got too many thinkers looking for the answer in the wind
Hey we got too many do goods and not enough hard working men

We got poets and prophets and some folks are readin' the stars
If we'd look a little closer to home we might find who we are
We got all kinds of sermons in booklets and pamphlets on sin
Hey we got too many do goods and not enough hard working men
We got too many do goods...

We got clubs and committees who know all about wrong and right
Oh but I've seen some children who starved plumb to death on advice
I appreciate your sympathy and I believe in missionary work
But a little bit of bendin' down and pickin' up your brother wouldn't hurt
We got too many do goods...

 

[fox69]

"Trees In Philadelphia"

"Trees In Philadelphia"


She loved me like the trees love Philadelphia and like the Philadelphians love trees
One fine and fleeting day in Philadelphia
Then we went our separate ways to share the same old memories
It's different now than what it's always been it's that narrow line between love and sin
Oh she loved me like the trees love Philadelphia
And like the Philadelphians love trees
Just a summer walk on one afternoon like the leaves that fall it ended too soon
Oh she loved me like the trees love Philadelphia
And like the Philadelphians love trees

 

[fox69]

"Trip To Hyden"

"Trip To Hyden"


Tossed and turned the night before in some old motel
Subconsciously recallin' some old sinful thing I'd done
My buddy drove the car and those big coal trucks shook us up
As we drove on into hyden in the early morning sun

Past the hound dogs and some domineckered chickens
Temporary-lookin' houses with their lean and bashful kids
Every hundred yards a sign proclaimed that christ was coming soon
And I thought, "well, man, he'd sure be disappointed if he did."

On the way we talked about the 40 miners
Of the 39 who died and one who lived to tell the tale
We stopped for beans and cornbread at the ed & lois cafe
Then went to see the sherrif at the leslie county jail

They took us to the scene of that disaster
I was so surprised to not find any sign of death at all
Just another country hillside with some mudholes and some junk
The mines were deadly silent like a rathole in the wall

"It was just like being right inside of a shotgun."
The old man coughed and lit a cigarette that he had rolled
Back in town I bought a heavy jacket from a store
It was sunny down in hyden but somehow the town was cold

The old man introduced the undertaker
Who seemed refreshed despite the kind of work I knew he did
We talked about the pretty lady from the grand ole opry
An' we talked about the money she was raisin' for the kids

Well, I guess the old man thought we were reporters
He kept reminding me of how his simple name was spelled
Some lady said, "they worth more money now than when they's a-livin'."
And I'll leave it there 'cause I suppose she told it pretty well

 

[fox69]

"Tulsa Telephone Book"

"Tulsa Telephone Book"


Have you read any good telephone books lately?
If you ain't then let me recommend one
I've already read that Tulsa telephone book through thirteen times
If you don't know any last names it ain't much fun

Readin' that Tulsa telephone book, can drive a guy insane
Especially if that girl you're lookin' for has no last name
I gotta find her and tell her, I don't want our love to end
So I'm readin' that Tulsa telephone book again

Well, I was in Tulsa and didn't have anything goin'
She lived in Tulsa and didn't have anything on
She said, "my name is Shirley," and I said, "my name is T."
I woke up the next mornin' and she was gone

All of the Tulsa operators know my voice now
And they gotta know how long I've been alone
If you meet a girl named Shirley with some ribbons in her hair
Would you tell her that she's wanted on the phone

Readin' that Tulsa telephone book, can drive a guy insane
Especially if that girl you're lookin' for has no last name
I gotta find her and tell her, I don't want our love to end
So I'm readin' that Tulsa telephone book again
I'm readin' that Tulsa telephone book again

 

[fox69]

"Turn It On, Turn It On, Turn It On"

"Turn It On, Turn It On, Turn It On"


Johnny got up one morning; he went down to the company store
Got him a big box of bullets to fit into his .44
The store man said, "son, are you gonna work? you know you owe me too much to stop."
John said, "I got a little workin' to do but I ain't goin' by your clock."

People said john was a slacker, 'cause he wouldn't fight in their war
A man wasn't much if he wouldn't fight back in 1940 and 4
The doctor said john was just too sick to go, but the people said that he was a coward
And one of the men makin' fun of him was a fellow named Milton Howard

Milton was down at the cold spring, a-drinkin' from a mason jar
He said, "John, you better get yourself to work or you're gonna fool around 'til you get fired."
John blew the dust from his old .44, put two holes in Milton's head
When johnny walked off to get some more shootin' done, that ol' cold spring was a-runnin' red

Next guy he met was a stigall boy, and the boy had a hammer in his hand
John said "son, you should've built yourself a box, 'cause you're a headed for the promised land."
Stigall fell down to his knees to pray, and he cried "lord, johnny please don't shoot!"
Before he got halfway to saying "amen", well old johnny shot him out of his boots

Word went out through the county, that old john had lost his head
The people were runnin' and screamin'; there were seven of 'em lyin' there dead
Johnny hid out in a farmhouse; he had satisfaction in his eyes
He said "I know they're coming to get me, boys, but they ain't a-gonna take me alive."

People gathered 'round that old farmhouse; it was the relatives of all them dead
Now john said, "if the sheriff comes through that door I'm gonna fill him plumb full of lead."
The sheriff kicked down that old farmhouse door, but old john's gun would not shoot
Johnny just smiled at the sheriff and said, "the lord must think a lot of you."

They took old john to the jailhouse; he entered in a guilty plea
The judge said death in the electric chair, 'cause it's murder in the first degree
John's last meal was a lot of fried chicken, cold beans and baby squash
He ate every bite that they brought him, then he smiled and said, "I thank you all a lot."

They put old john in the electric chair; they shaved his ankles and his head
The preacher said, "son, have you got something to say; in a minute you're a-gonna be dead."
John said, "I ain't no coward, and the people know that I won't run."
Then johnny smiled up at the warden and said, "turn it on, turn it on, turn it on!"

 

[fox69]

"Waiting On The Other Shoe To Fall"

"Waiting On The Other Shoe To Fall"


When I was a young man I busted my jeans hopping a freight down to New Orleans
Worked on the oil rigs and played in the bars but nothing ever killed me so far
Now I'm waitin' on the other shoe to fall and right now you're walking out on me
I can hear your footsteps going down the hall
And I am waitin' on the other shoe to fall

Well I joined the army and I did my time they sent me right up to the front lines
People were shoutin' and shootin' at me but I had to keep America free
Now I'm waitin' on the other shoe to fall...

I've been to California and I've been to New York
And all in between I had beans on my fork
Clothes on my back and a song on my mind but I've never met a woman like your kind
Now I'm waitin' on the other shoe to fall...

Well right down the street there's an old boardin' house
You better be careful bout throwin' me out
When she hears my footsteps comin' up their stairs she's gonna start combing her hair
She's a waitin' on the other shoe to fall right now you're walking out on me
I can hear your footsteps going down the hall
And she is waitin' on the other shoe to fall

 

[fox69]

"Water Blue"

"Water Blue"


My teardrops remind me that I'm water blue
A conscience too healthy for all I've been through
The sun shines and I think that I should improve
But I'm heartsick and I'm water blue
I'm heartsick and I'm water blue

Whiskey in water and salt in my tears too many long nights for too many years
They say I'll forget you but I never do I'm heartsick and I'm water blue
I'm heartsick and I'm water blue

As blue as an ocean as blue as a lake thinking about you and all my mistakes
All I ever wanted was my job and you now I'm heartsick and I'm water blue
I'm heartsick and I'm water blue