Lyrics: Ballad Of Hank

Don't tell us how it really was
When you was working with daddy

Well, in 1950, I took a little nip
Along with Mr. Williams on the way to Mississippi
We was stacked 8 deep in a Packard limousine
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 believing that fat sum bitch

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 profits all to hell

'Cause he'd run through a 10 and he'd run through a 20
And he'd run through a 100 just as fast as it could go
Like a big dose of sauce to a little bitty fella
He'd spend a 1000 dollars on a 100 dollar show

Hank looked at me with a funny looking grin
Said, "I've been to the Opry and I'm going 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

And 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 working like hell and you was having fun
We was riding every day and playing every night
And every 20 minutes some of us had a fight

Now, daddy he was making 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 Alabama

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 doing pretty good
He's got a music company that they call Cedarwood
And Hank played nothing but sold out halls
And I was pumping 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 50 and he'd run through a 100
And he'd run through a 1000 just as hard as he could go
Buying Cadillac coots, paying double alimony
And he fired some people that he didn't even know

Don you know, you know
You used to work for me one time?
I sure know that come but come to think of it
You fired my ass back in 1972

Oh, well it's a family tradition ya know?
Yap, yap, yap, yap
But I kept Jerry Rivers
Right, right