Homecoming

Tom T Hall Homecoming Lyrics
1.A Week In A Country Jail

One time i spent a week inside a little country jail
And i don't guess i'll ever live it down
I was sittin' at a red light when these two men came and got me
And said that i was speeding through their town

Well, they said,'tomorrow morning you can see the judge then
go.'
They let me call one person on the phone
I thought i'd be there overnight so i just called my boss
To tell him i'd be off but not for long

Well, they motioned me inside a cell with seven other guys
One little barred up window in the rear
My cellmates said if they had let me bring some money in
We ought to send the jailer for some beer

Well, i had to pay him double 'cause he was the man in charge
And the jailer's job was not the best in town
Later on his wife brought hot bologna, eggs and gravy
The first day i was there i turned it down

Well, next morning they just let us sleep but i was up real
early
Wonderin' when i'd get my release
Later on we got more hot bologna, eggs and gravy
And by now i wasn't quite so hard to please

Two days later when i thought that i had been forgotten
The sheriff came in chewin' on a straw
He said, 'where is the guy who thinks that this is indianapolis?
I'd like to talk to him about the law.'
Well, i told him who i was and told him i was working steady
And i really should be gettin' on my way
That part about me bein' who i was did not impress him
He said, 'the judge'll be here any day.'

The jailer had a wife and let me tell you she was awful
But she brought that hot bologna every day
And after seven days she got to lookin' so much better
I asked her if she'd like to run away

The next mornin' that old judge took every nickel that i had
And he said, 'son, let this teach you not to race.'
The jailer's wife was smilin' from the window as i left
In thirty minutes i was out of state


2.Strawberry Farms

Summer comes laughing to strawberry farms
Have you ever been there, where the wind never blows
Summer comes early to strawberry farms
Oh the sun always shines, but an orphan can't go

My mother is dead, she doesn't care where i go
My father left a long, long time ago
I had me a frog, he never whined or cried
I kept him in my pocket and he died
Summer comes laughing to strawberry farms
Have you ever been there, where the wind never blows
Summer comes early to strawberry farms
Oh the sun always shines, but an orphan can't go

Bobby had a brother, he got killed in the war
I asked him but he didn't know what for
My mother was pretty, she had long black hair
Once, she promised me a teddy bear

Summer comes laughing to strawberry farms
Have you ever been there, where the wind never blows
Summer comes early to strawberry farms
Oh the sun always shines, and things don't die


3.Shoeshine Man


4.Kentucky In The Morning


5.Nashville Is A Groovy Little Town

My plane set down in nashville at a quarter after 2
A little while and i'd be on my way back home to you
While i was waitin' for my flight, got out and looked around
Nashville is a groovy little town

I met some entertainers and they had an extra girl
I told them i was just a tourist out to see the world
From one place to another, yes we really made the rounds
Nashville is a groovy little town

Next day they all took me in just like they did before
I guess i'm trying to tell you i won't be home anymore
Now this may sound poetic, but i'm happy as a clown
Nashville is a groovy little town

Remember how i used to sit and drink and play guitar
And i'd get up and sing for all those folks at jody's bar
Well i found out it ain't too bad, the way i pick and sound
Nashville is a groovy little town

You know that nest egg that we buried in the bank awhile
Take it out and spend it darlin', dress yourself in style
You have always been a swinger and now i won't be around
Nashville is a groovy little town

I've got myself a little shack out on ol' hickory lake
And now and then i get a gig and buy myself a steak
Y'know, they published one of my old songs, they're showing it
around
Nashville is a groovy little town

You remember all those tranquilizers that i used to take
Well i'm not on those anymore, i'm on old hickory lake
So when you start cryin' here's the best one-liner i have found
What else you got? yes, nashville is a groovy little town


6.Margie's At The Lincoln Park Inn

My name's in the paper where i took the boy scouts to hike
My hands are all dirty from working on my little boy's bike
The preacher came by and i talked for a minute with him
My wife's in the kitchen and margie's at the lincoln park inn

And i know why she's there 'cause i've been there before
But i made a promise that i wouldn't cheat anymore

I tried to ignore it but i know she's in there my friend
My mind's on a number and margie's at the lincoln park inn

Next sunday it's my turn to speak to the young people's class
They expect answers to all of the questions they ask
What would they say if i spoke on a modern day sin
And all of the margie's at all of the lincoln park inns

The bike is all fixed and my little boy is in bed asleep
His little ol' puppy is curled in a ball at my feet
My wife's baking cookies to feed to the bridge club again
I'm almost out of cigarettes and margie's at the lincoln park
inn

And i know why she's there


7.Homecoming

I guess i should've written, dad, to let you know that i was
coming home
I've been gone so many years, i didn't realize you had a phone
I saw your cattle coming in, boy they're looking mighty fat and
slick
I saw fred at the service station, told me that his wife is
awful sick

You heard my record on the radio, oh, well it's just another
song
But i've got a hit recorded and it'll be out on the market 'fore
too long
I got this ring in mexico, no, it didn't cost me quite a bunch
When you're in the business that i'm in, the people call it
puttin' up a front

I know i've lost a little weight, i guess i am looking kind of
pale
If you didn't know me better, dad, you'd think that i'd just
gotten out of jail
No, we don't ever call them beer joints, night clubs are the
places that i work
You meet a lot of people there, but no, there ain't much chance
of gettin' hurt

I'm sorry that i couldn't be there with you all when momma
passed away
I was on the road and when they came and told me it was just too
late
I drove by the grave to see her, boy, that really is a pretty
stone
I'm glad that fred and jan are here, it's better than you being
here alone

Well i knew you's gonna ask me who the lady is that's sleeping
in the car
That's just a girl who works for me and, man, she plays a pretty
mean guitar
We worked in san antone last night, she didn't even have the
time to dress
She drove me down from nashville and to tell the truth i guess
she needs the rest

Well, dad, i gotta go, we got a dance to work in cartersville
tonight
Let me take your number down, i'll call you, and i promise you
i'll write
Now you be good and don't be chasin' all those pretty women that
you know
And by the way if you see barbara walker tell her that i said
'hello.'


8.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 x 2)


9.Flat-footin' It

It started in roanoke a little whiles ago
A friend knew a dance that you ought to know
They call it flat footin' and it sure looks fine
Right now it's flat footin' it time

And you'll be flat footin' it, flat gettin' it
You don't know just how good it is until you hear that guitar
pickin' it, pick it

Just let your arms hang right where they are
Then you'll start flat footin' it ? to the bar
Turn yourself loose all the law will allow
And you're doing that flat footin' it now

You'll be flat footin' it, flat gettin' it
You don't know just how good it is until you hear that drummer
pickin' it, pick it

It started in roanoke and came a long way
Now it's a flat footin' it usa
Good for your spirits and good for your health
You oughta try a little flat footin' yourself

And you'll be flat footin' it, flat gettin' it
You don't know just how good it is until you hear that bass
fiddle pickin' it, pick it

Well, all of the students at the university
Shocked and amazed the existing faculty
Some dropped biology and some cut their math
To enroll in a flat footin' it class

Flat footin' it, flat gettin' it
You don't know just how good it is until you hear that band a'
pickin' it, pick it


10.George(And The North Woods)


11.I Miss A Lot Of Trains