| Music like "Ballad of New Orleans" by Johnny Horton |
| G | C | |
| Well in | 1950 I | took a little nip |
| D | G | |
| Along with Mr. Williams on the | way to Mississipp' |
| G | C | |
| We was | stacked 8 deep in a | Packard limousine |
| D | G | |
| 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 |
| Chorus: |
| G | |
| Cause he'd | run through a 10 and he'd run through a 20 |
| D | G | |
| And he'd run through a 100 just as | fast as it would | go |
| Like a big dose of sauce to a little bitty fella |
| D | G | |
| 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 |