The Ballad Of Hank Williams

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Well in 1950 I took a little nip 
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Along with Mr. Williams on the way to Mississipp' 
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We was stacked 8 deep in a Packard limousine 
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And we met this promoter in the town of New Orleans 
 
Now 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 sumbitch 
Now the man told Daddy 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 profits all to hell 

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Cause he'd run through a 10 and he'd run through a 20 
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And he'd run through a 100 just as fast as it would go 
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Like a big dose of sauce to a little bitty fella 
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He'd spend a 1000 dollars on a 100 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 
And 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 
 
Chorus: 
So 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 you was havin' fun 
We was ridin' every day and playin' every night 
And every 20 minutes some of us had a fight 
Now, Daddy he was makin' money hand over fist,  
And y'all was getting' screwed but you wasn't getting kissed 
Yeah, I told him to pass a little bit around  
But he said he'd rather send it to his folks in Alabam' 
 
Repeat 2nd Chorus 
 
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 nothing but sold out halls 
And I was pumpin' gas in greasy overalls 
 
Repeat 1st Chorus