Tom T. Hall

[fox69]

"I'm A Cowboy Too"

"I'm A Cowboy Too"


I'm a cowboy too I got to wear loafer shoes
I have to wear a tie and when I wear my hat it makes the baby cry
I'm a station wagon champ I'm the king of summer camps
I love what I do but I'm a cowboy too
I can't go out at night get into barroom fights
If I ever lost my cool they'd make me tell it all in Sunday school
Well my horse would't feel at home my neighborhood is zoned
Some say it ain't true but I'm a cowboy too
I'm a cowboy too hey you oughta taste my barbecue
If you ever heard me pickin' guitar well you would exclaim he oughta be a star
I'm in love with my wife I'm in love with my life
I sometimes get the blues cause I'm a cowboy too
I could drive a pickup truck if I had six thousand bucks
I had cowboy boots before but they left marks on the kitchen floor
I get in trouble wearin' a hat and the beer just makes me fat
Well my kids are buckaroos and I'm a cowboy too
I'm a country music fan I buy every tape I can
The man down where I work said a beard and the hair make me look like a jerk
Well my wife don't understand she's a Willie and Waylon fan
I got some people fooled oh but I'm a cowboy too

 

[fox69]

"I'm Forty Now"

"I'm Forty Now"


There were barefoot dreams of catching outlaws
There were school dreams of catching footballs
There were young dreams of finding great romance
There were armies and I took the chance
There were avenues of glory and some deep despair
That put subtle shapes of silver in my hair
Well I'm forty now and I'm a man but I can't resist the urge to put dreams in my plans
So many hopeless dreams and I broke some vows
Maybe life begins for me I'm forty now

There were summer nights and there were good days life was water and I made waves
Oh I was crazy then so I made some breaks maybe God can look the other way
Either good outweighs the bad or we forget the bad
I'm thankful for a few friends that I've had
Cause I'm forty now and I'm a man...
Well I'm forty now

 

[fox69]

"I'm Not Ready Yet"

"I'm Not Ready Yet"


I said I'd leave you anytime I'm ready
Some April when all the land is wet
Some summer, some fall, or maybe winter
I'll go someday, but I'm not ready yet

I should've left the day your love was dyin'
I passed up every date I ever set
I know I'll leave you when my heart is ready
I'm still around, 'cause I'm not ready yet

Well, I've left a hundred times, but you don't know that
Because I'm ashamed to tell how far I get
You didn't, you don't, you'll never love me
And someday I'll go, but I'm not ready yet

I should've left the day your love was dyin'
I passed up every date I ever set
I know I'll leave you when my heart is ready
I'm still around, 'cause I'm not ready yet

 

[fox69]

"It Feels Better Now"

"It Feels Better Now"


It feels better now I got time out of the way
It feels better now you said it would someday
Like miles behind a runner I watch the passing summers
Take the hurt away oh it's good to say it feels better now
It feels better now my friends forgot your name
It feels better now they think I've done the same
Circumstance protects us from things that will not let us
Get a goodnight sleep I seldom weep it feels better now
It feels better now I learned to smile again
It feels better now I've got some super friends
The ticks and tocks of passing time that were like hammers in my mind
Have built a wall that hides it all it feels better now

 

[fox69]

"It Sure Can Get Cold In Des Moines"

"It Sure Can Get Cold In Des Moines"


The iowa weather was 13 below
I had come to des moines for a radio show
I awoke in the evening from a traveler's sleep
With notions of something to eat

The old elevator slid down past the floors
My head and my eyes said "you should have slept more."
The man at the desk said the restaurant was closed
Outside it was 14 below

The lounge was still open and so I walked in
In place of my food I had two double gins
I looked 'round the room, as a tourist would do
That's when I saw the girl in the booth

She sat there and cried in the smoky half-dark
The silent type crying that tears out your heart
Her clothes were not cut in the new modern way
And her suitcase had seen better days

Nobody asked her what caused her such pain
Nobody spoke up, yet no one complained
Without even asking, I knew why she cried
Life is just like that sometimes

The man at the desk said, "it's 15 below."
The bellhop said "yeah man, that's cold...that's cold."
I went back to my room and I wrote down this song
Oh it sure can get cold in des moines

 

[fox69]

"It's Got To Be Kentucky For Me"

"It's Got To Be Kentucky For Me"


Georgia I love your big magnolia trees Texas I love to feel the prairie breeze
Tennessee you made me what I am today but it's got to be Kentucky for me
She loves me and she knows where I am Kentucky you are my motherland
Say hello to the rivers and the trees oh it's got to be Kentucky for me

New York that's a fine place to go Colorado my it's pretty covered with the snow
California sunshine just brings me to my knees oh but it's got to be Kentucky for me
My flesh and my blood is buried there I believe that Jesus blessed the briar
Big world I have seen your majesty but it's got to be Kentucky for me
Oh it's got to be Kentucky for me

 

[fox69]

"Jesus On The Radio (Daddy On The Phone)"

"Jesus On The Radio (Daddy On The Phone)"


Mama likes to listen to the grand old gospel time
Daddy is a cowboy drinkin' beer and wine
Mama's in the kitchen standin' there all alone
She got Jesus on the radio and daddy on the phone
Daddy says come on down to Tootsie's and have yourself a beer
Mama's in the kitchen standin' there in tears
My mama love my daddy but it's breaking up our home
She got Jesus on the radio and daddy on the phone

Mama don't like drinkin' and she don't understand
Daddy's had a hard life a deeply troubled man
It's honky tonk and gospel that's breaking up our home
She got Jesus on the radio and daddy on the phone
Daddy says come on down...

I came home one evening there was mama on her knees
Big old tears of gospel joy running down her cheeks
She says you don't have to worry son we are not alone
I got Jesus on the radio and Jesus on the phone
Daddy says come on down...

 

[fox69]

"Joe, Don't Let Your Music Kill You"

"Joe, Don't Let Your Music Kill You"


Joe don't let your music kill ya
It's a thing that supposed to fill ya
It's a thing that supposed to make you happy
Taking pills and drinking whiskey picking can be mighty risky
Joe don't let your music kill ya nobody cares

That song that you've been singing it's not what you think
I know you've seen some sunny days
You love your music but you love your life
And there's nothing silent like a grave

Joe don't let your music kill ya
It's a thing that supposed to fill ya
It's a thing that supposed to make you happy
Taking pills and drinking whiskey picking can be mighty risky
Joe don't let your music kill ya nobody cares

Hunger can be killed with a can of beans
Don't let 'em tell you that I'm wrong
You got a good woman and she's got her dreams
Don't hang your life up for a song

Joe don't let your music kill ya
It's a thing that supposed to fill ya
It's a thing that supposed to make you happy
Taking pills and drinking whiskey picking can be mighty risky
Joe don't let your music kill ya nobody cares

Joe don't let your music kill ya
It's a thing that supposed to fill ya
It's a thing that supposed to make you happy
Taking pills and drinking whiskey picking can be mighty risky
Joe don't let your music kill ya nobody cares

 

[fox69]

"Jolly Old Saint Nicholas"

"Jolly Old Saint Nicholas"


Jolly Old St. Nicholas, lean your ear this way
Don't you tell a single soul what I'm going to say
Christmas Eve is coming soon, now, you dear old man
Whisper what you'll bring to me, tell me if you can

When the clock is striking twelve, when I'm fast asleep
Down the chimney broad and black, with your pack, you'll creep
All the stockings you will find hanging in a row
Mine will be the shortest one, you'll be sure to know

Johnny wants a pair of skates, Susy wants a dolly
Nellie wants a story book, she thinks dolls are folly
As for me, my little brain isn't very bright
Choose for me, old Santa Claus, what you think is right

 

[fox69]

"Kentucky In The Morning"

"Kentucky In The Morning"


I will sing of a place that you may have seen in the eastern half of our land so green
Where the sun is warm and the sky is blue and the love of a girl is true
Kentucky in the morning trimmed in green and blue
Kentucky in the morning I was only passing through

There's a bird that sings something sweet and pure
That tune goes on while the beat sounds sure
Oh if I could hum that old song today I could chase my blues away
Kentucky in the morning...

Oh I can't recall how I came to go by Kentucky shores on the Ohio
As I crossed that bridge I looked back to say I will sing you a song someday
Kentucky in the morning...