Ballad Of Hank Williams

Don, tell us how it really was

When you was workin' with daddy

Well, in 1950 I took a little nip

Along with Mr williams on

The way to Mississipp'

We was stacked eight deep

In a Packard limousine

And we met this promoter in

The town of New Orleans

Well, the man told daddy that

He had what it took

And he liked the way he sang and

He liked the way he shook

He said pretty soon he'd make us all rich

And we started believin' that fat sum bitch

Now daddy told the man if

You wanna make some dough

Take a little money and book me on a show

And we played them dates and

We filled the places well but, Hank

He'd done blowed the profit's all to hell

'Cause he'd run through a ten and

He'd run through a twenty

And he'd run through a hundred just

As fast as it could go

Like a big dose of sauce

To a little bitty feller

He'd spend a thousand dollars on

A hundred dollar show

Hank looked at me with a funny lookin' grin

Said, "I've been to the Opry

And I'm goin' back again"

We met the owner in a little office there

A big fat fella with some artificial hair

He told Hank

He wanted half of everything he made

Or he'd have to tell Audrey 'bout

Some women Hank had laid

And you told daddy he'd better get smart

Get rid of them fellas and make a new start

Then he fired my ass and

He fired Jerry Rivers

And he fired everybody just as

Hard as he could go

He fired old Cedric and he fired Sammy Pruitt

And he fired some people that

He didn't even know

Well, every song he made

It went to number one

Y'all was workin' like hell and

He was havin' fun we was ridin' every day

And playin' every night

And every twenty minutes some of

Us had a fight

Now, daddy he was makin'

Money hand over fist

And y'all was gettin' screwed but

You wasn't gettin' kissed

Yeah, I told him to pass a little bit around

But he said he'd rather send it

To his folks in Alabam'

So he fired your ass and

He fired Jerry Rivers

And he fired everybody just as

Hard as he could go

He fired old Cedric and he fired Sammy Pruitt

And he fired some people that

He didn't even know

Now the owner of the Opry

He's a doin' pretty good

He's got a music company

That they call Cedarwood

And Hank played nothin' but sold out halls

And I was pumpin' gas in greasy overalls

'Cause he fired my ass and

He fired Jerry Rivers

And he fired everybody just as

Hard as he could go

He fired old Cedric and he fired Sammy Pruitt

And he fired some people that

He didn't even know

Hank run through a fifty and

He'd run through a hundred

And he'd run through a thousand just

As hard as he could go

Buyin' Cadillac Coupes

Payin' double alimony

And he fired some people that

He didn't even know

Don, you know

You used to work for me one time

I sure remember that

But come to think of it you

Fired my ass back in 1972

Oh, well, it's a family tradition ya know?

Yep, yep, yep but I kept Jerry Rivers

Right, right