COUNTRY MUSIC HEAVEN
(Curb 77593)
1993
Produced by Mike Johnson
1.
DRINKING FROM MY SAUCER
(Mike Johnson)
« © Tree Publishing, BMI »
I'm drinking from my saucer 'cause my cup has overflowed
You know, I never did make my fortune and, I guess it's a little late now
But, I never did worry about that much,
No, shoot, I was happy anyhow, 'cause you see
As I have journeyed down life's road,
I have reaped a lot more than I've sowed
And I'm drinking from my saucer cause my cup has over flowed
No I'm not a man of riches
No, sir and sometimes the going gets kinda' rough
But, I got me a good family, an old horse and a dog
They all love me well, that makes me rich enough
I thank the Lord for all these bless the mercies he has bestowed
I'm drinking from my saucer 'cause my cup has overflowed
Oh, I've had lots of times when it seemed everything went wrong
I could feel my faith get, well just a little bit thin
But, the rain would stop and dark clouds would roll away
The sun would come shining right back down in my life again
So Lord don't let me gripe too much about the rough row I've hoed
'Cause I'm drinking from my saucer, my cup has overflowed
I'm drinking from my saucer, my cup has overflowed
And now Lord if you can just give me the strength I need
And the courage when that old road gets steep and rough
I'll not ask for any other blessing cause I have been blessed more than enough
And Lord, don't ever let me get so busy that I can't help another with his load
And I just keep on drinking from my saucer cause my cup has surely overflowed
I'm drinking from my saucer cause my cup has overflowed
Thanks Lord
********** 2.
TOUCH OF THE MASTERS HAND
(M.B. Welch - Tex Ritter)
« © Tex Ritter Music, ASCAP »
'Twas battered and scared and the auctioneer thought it hardly worth his while
To waste much time on the ol' violin but he held it up with a smile
"What am I offered good folks?" he cried
"Who will start the bidding for me?
A dollar, one dollar, two, only two
Two dollars who will make it three
Three dollars once three dollars twice going for three
But, no from the back of the room a gray haired man came forward
And gently picked up the bow
And then wiping the dust from the ol' violin tuning the loose strings,
He played a melody as pure and sweet as the caroling angel's sing
[ violin ] The music stopped and the auctioneer with a voice quiet and low said
"Now what am I bid for the ol' violin?" he held it up with the bow
A thousand dollars, who will make it two
Two thousand who will make it three
Three thousand once, Three thousand twice and going going and gone.
The people cheered, but some of them cried,
"We don't understand what changed its worth?"
Then someone replied, "The touch of the master's hand."
So many a man with life out of tune much like the ol' violin
But the Master comes and a change is brought
By the touch of the Master's Hand by the touch of the Master's Hand
********** 3.
I SAID A PRAYER FOR YOU TODAY
(arr. Mike Johnson)
« © Tree Publishing, BMI »
My friend I said a prayer for you today and I know God must've heard
I felt the answer in my heart although He spoke no word
I didn't ask for wealth or fame I knew you wouldn't mind
I ask Him to send you treasure's of a far different kind
I asked that He watch over you at the start of each new day
And grant you health and peace and friend to share your way
I asked for happiness for you in all things great and small
But it was for God's loving care, I prayed most of all
********** 4.
FRIENDS
(Glen Campbell-Dick Bowman)
« © Glenn Campbell Music, BMI »
You know friends are never earned they are a gift from the loving God
They're precious beyond human evaluation
You dare not take them for grant it or they'll drift away like smoke
And the warmth of there caring will vanish into the chill of the endless night
Most of my friends are unknowns they probably won't even rate an obituary
Unless they live and die in a small town some where
Where nothing much ever happens
But some of my friends are big people
They are famous, sensitive and talented
Their names are household words
And yet they are no more precious in God's eyes or in mine
Then those wonderful nobodies who live and die in obscurity
Who is your friend?
He's someone who warns you with a nod
Or with an unspoken word in hard times
When you are hurting beyond words
She's someone who holds you to her breast
And sighs softly into your hair
When no other medicine could possibly stop the pain
A friend is someone who, clinks a glass against yours
Or answers the phone at three in the morning
When you're lost and with a few words of encouragement
And concern makes you realize your not really lost at all
Friends come in both sexes, in all shapes and sizes
The most important thing they have in common is
Their ability to share with you your most sky splitting joys
Or your' deepest most awesome sorrows
I think of all the things I have in this world
I'm most grateful for my friends
********** 5.
OL' DOC BROWN
(arr. Bill Anderson)
« © Tree Publishing, BMI »
He was just and old country doctor in a small Georgia town
Fame and fortune had passed him by but we never saw him frown
As day by day in his kindly way he served us one and all
Many a patient forgot to pay although Doc's fees were small
But ol' Doc Brown didn't seem to mind in fact he didn't even send out bills
His only ambition it seemed was to find sure cures for aches and ills
Why nearly half the folks in our home town
And yes, I'm one of them too were ushered in by ol' Doc Brown
When we made our first debaut ah he needed his dimes
And there were times he'd receive a fee
But he would pass it on to some poor soul that he said needed it worse than he
So when hard times hit our town and drained each meager purse
The scanty income of Ol' Doc Brown just went from bad to worse
He had to sell his furniture why he couldn't even pay his office rent
And so to an old dusty room over a liberty stable Ol' Doc Brown and his satchel went
On the hitching post at the curb below to advertise his wares
He nailed up a little sign that read "Doc Brown has moved up stairs"
And there he kept on helping people get well and his heart was pure gold
But anyone with eyes could see that Doc was getting old
Then one day he didn't even answer when they knocked upon his door
Ol' Doc Brown was lying down but his life was no more
They found him there in his old black suit but on his face was a smile of contentment
But all the money they could find on him was a quarter and one ol' copper cent
So they opened up his ledger and what they saw gave their hearts a pull
'Cause beside each debtor's name Ol' Doc had written, "Paid in full"
Well it looked like the potter's field for Doc and that caused us some alarm
'Till some one remembered the family graveyard out on the Simmon's farm
Ol' Doc had brought six of their kids into this world and Simmons was a grateful cuss
He said, "Doc been like one of the family so he can sleep with us."
Ol' Doc Brown should have had a funeral fine enough for a king
It's a ghastly joke that our town was broke and no one could give a thing
Except Jones the undertaker he did mighty well
He donated an old iron casket he'd never been able to sell
And the funeral procession well it wasn't much for grace and pomp and style
But those wagonloads of mourners they stretched out for more than a mile
And we breathed a prayer as we laid him there to rest beneath the sod
This man who had earned the right to be on speaking terms with God
His grave was covered with flowers but not from the floral shop
Just roses and things from folks gardens and one or two dandelion tops
For times had hit our town hard and each man carried a load
So some just picked the wild flowers as they passed along the way
We wanted to give Doc a monument we kind of figured we owed him one
'Cause he had made our town a better place for all the good he had done
But monuments cost money so we just did the best we could
And on his grave we just placed a monument of wood
We pulled up that old hitching post where Doc had nailed his sign
We painted it white and to all of us it surely did look fine
Now the rains and snow has washed away our white trimmings of paint
And there ain't nothing left but Doc's old sign and even that's getting faint
And still when southern breezes and twinkling stars cross our little town
And pail moonlight shines through Georgia pines on the grave of Ol' Doc Brown
You can still see that old hitching post as if in answer to our prayers
Proudly telling the whole wide world Doc Brown has moved up stairs
********** 6.
COUNTRY MUSIC HEAVEN
(Eddie Dean - Hal Southern - Bill Anderson)
« © Tree Publishing, BMI »
I dreamed I was there in Country Music Heaven
Oh what a beautiful sight
Last night I dreamed I went to Country Music Heaven
And you know who greeted me at the Gate
The Old Blue Yodeler himself Jimmy Rodgers
He said to me "Bill, they asked me to show you around up here
And right over there is some of your old commodores
Man was I glad to see them
There was Earnest Tubb, Marty Robbins, Red Foley
Lefty Frizzell, Tennessee Ernie Ford
I dreamed I was there in Country Music Heaven
Oh, What a beautiful sight
He introduced me to Hank Williams and we saw Elvis
And then he showed me the Hall Of Fame
With all the gold guitars and fiddles hanging on the wall
And then he said, "Step over this way
There are some of your friends, I know you'll want to see
They're waiting for you"
And there they were standing side by side smiling at me
Tex Ritter, Johnny Horton, George Morgan
Dottie West and Keith Whitley
And then he said we got a big show up here tonight
And we have saved you a seat on the front row
Ah I sat and watched and listened
As Grant Turner introduced an all-star line up
Like none I'd ever seen
Roger Miller opened the show with Bob Wills and his Texas Playboys
Followed by Webb Pierce followed by Hawkshaw Hakins
Red Slovine, Carl and Pearl Butler,and Cowboy Copus
Lester Flat, Stringbean, Jimmy Gateley, Mel Street,
Jim Reeves and Patsy Cline
I saw all the stars in Country Music Heaven
Oh, what a star studded night
Then I ask him who else he expected in the next say 100 years
Jimmy handed me a large book covered with stardust
He called it the big tally book
In it were many names
And each name was branded with pure gold
I began to read some of them as I turned the pages
Roy Acuff, Minnie Pearl, Eddy Aronld, Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson
Randy Travis, Garth Brooks Reba McIntire, Whispering Bill Anderson
Whispering Bill Anderson?
Ah, and that's when I woke up
And I'm sorry I did
I dreamed I was there in Country Music Heaven
Oh, what a beautiful sight
********** 7.
FOOTPRINTS IN THE SAND
(Bill Anderson)
« © Tree Publishing, BMI »
Over all my burdens and through all my fears Jesus carries me
Through all my trials and through all my tears Jesus carries me
One night a man had a dream
And he dreamed he was walking with the Lord
A crossed the sky flashed scenes from his life
For each scene he noted two sets of footprints in the sand
One belonged to him the other to the Lord
When the last scene of his life flashed before him
He looked back at the footprints in the sand
And noticed that many times along the path of his life
There was only one set of footprints
He also noticed that this seemed to happen
At the very lowest and sadist times in his life
This really bothered him and he questioned the Lord about it
Lord you said that once I decided to follow you
You would walk with me all the way, but I have noticed
That in the most troublesome times in my life
There are only one set of foot prints
I don't understand why when I needed you the most
You would leave me
The Lord replied, "Oh, my precious, precious child I love you
And I would never leave you during your times of trial and suffering
When you see only one set of foot prints
I did not leave you
It was then that I carried you
Over all my burdens and through all my fears Jesus carries me
Through all my trials and through all my fears Jesus carries me
Oh he carries me across the burning sand over water deep and wide
He gently takes me by the hand and carries me to the other side
Oh my Jesus carries me
**********
8.
ONE SOLITARY LIFE
(arr. Mike Johnson)
« © Tree Publishing, BMI »
Jesus, Jesus, Jesus sweetest name I know
He was born in an obscure village
The son of a simple peasant woman
He grew up in another small town
And worked with his father in a carpenter shop until He was thirty
And then for three years he was what we might call a traveling preacher
He never wrote a book, He never held political office
The places He did go He usually walked
He never did any of the things that one normally associates with greatness
He had no credentials but himself
When He was only thirty-three years old
The tide of public opinion turned against Him
Some of His friends deserted Him, one denied Him
One even betrayed Him and turned Him over to His enemies
He went through the mockery of a trial
He was nailed to a cross between two thieves
While He was dying His executioners for His only possession
His robe, His purple robe
When He was dead he was taken from the cross
And laid in a borrowed grave
Provided for the compassion of friends
Almost twenty wide centuries have since come and gone
And today this man is the centerpiece of the human race
The leader in the column of mankind problems
I think I am well with in the mark
That all the armies that ever marched
All the navies that ever sailed the seven seas
All the legislative bodies that ever met
All the kings and rulers that have ever rained
And all put together have not affected the life of man here on this earth
As much as that one solitary life
Jesus, Jesus, Jesus Sweetest name I know
Sweetest name I know I know
********** 9.
TROUBLE IN THE AMEN CORNER
(Archie Campbell)
« © Tree Publishing, BMI »
Rock of Ages clef for me let me hide myself in Thee
It was a stylish congregation you could see they had been around
And they had the biggest pipe organ of any church in town
But over in the amen corner of that church sat Ol' Brother Ire
And every Sunday he insisted on singing in the choir
His voice was cracked and broken age had touched his vocal chords
And nearly every Sunday he would get behind and miss the words
Well, the choir got so flustered the church was told, then fine
Brother Ire must quit his singing or the choir is going to resign
So the pastor appointed a committee I think it was three or four
They got in their big fine car drove up to Ire's door
They found the choirs great trouble sitting there in a big armed chair
The summers golden sum beam lay up on his snow-white hair
Said York, "We're here with the Vestry's approbation
To discuss a little mater that affects the congregation
Now it seems your voice is interfering with the choir
So if you will just lay out are you listening, Brother Ire?
The old man raised his head a sign he did hear
And on his cheek the three men caught the glitter of a tear
His feeble hands pushed back the locks as white as silky snow
And he answered the committee in a voice both soft and low
"I wonder if beyond the tide that is breaking at my feet
In that far off heavenly temple where my Master I shall meet
I wonder if when I try to sing the songs of God up higher
Will they kick me out up there for singing in Heavens Choir?"
A science filled the room the old man bowed his head
The committee went on back to town, but Brother Ire was dead.
The choir missed him for awhile, but it soon forgot
A few church goers watched the door, but the old man entered not
From far away his voice is sweet now and he sings his hearts desires
Where there are no committees and no fashionable choirs
Rock of age's clef for me let me hide myself in Thee
********** 10.
FARMER AND THE LORD
(Jim Wilson)
« © ATV Songs, BMI »
I was resting one evening by the side of the road
When I saw an old farmer in a field he had just hoed
His face was brown and all wrinkled by the sun and the wind
And he was talking to the Lord
Just like he would be talking to a friend
"Well sir," he said with a voice calm and quiet
"Them corn tassels need sacking and I ain't got no string to tie it
Hadn't rained in so long the fields are mighty dusty
It's been so unbearable hot that the kids are even getting fussy
Now that grass down in the pasture it should be knee high
If we could just have a little shower Lord
It might keep the cow from going dry
Ah, but listen to me talking Lord
You'd think I wasn't grateful
Well, you'd probably think I was down right hateful
You'd think, I forgot about that new calf that you sent
And the money that came in the mail that took care of the rent
Maw's cold is better and Johnny is home from the navy
Oh, that good Sunday dinner of chicken and dumplings and gravy
And that new preacher you sent us he sure is a fine young man
Why, he is just converting them sinners to beat the ban
Well I guess I'll mossy on home now Lord
I'll not take no more of your time
I guess there are plenty of folks there about waiting to ring your line
'Evening to you Lord, and watch over us tonight
And don't you worry about us none Lord
No, Sir because everything is going to be all right
********** 11.
SERENITY PRAYER
(arr. Mike Johnson)
« © Tree Publishing, BMI »
Dear Lord grant me the courage to change the things I can change
The serenity to accept those things I can't change
And the wisdom to know the difference
But most of all God
Grant me the courage not to give up on what I think is right
Even though I might think it is hopeless
********** 12.
WHISPERING HOPE
(Debbie Mathis)
« © Shutes Cove Music, BMI »
Soft as the voice of an angel whispers our comforting way
You know all entertainers get mail from their fans
And sometimes folks even write to us for advice
For example; I got a letter not long ago
From man that worked in a factory
The factory had been forced to close down
And sadly the young man had lost his job
He'd been out of work for about a year
When his wife gave up, took their three kids and left him
He'd been looking for work all this time
And now he's facing the situation all alone
He says that sometimes the depression takes over
And he doesn't know how he'll find the strength to go on
Well, I'm not a professional counselor and certainly not a philosopher
I am a country singer, but I do know from experience
That sometimes there is only one thing that will keep your heart from breaking
And that's what I'd like to offer to this young man
Some words of wisdom from a great old hymn
They call me Whispering Bill
Well today what I want to whisper is hope
Whispering hope oh how welcome thy voice
I got another letter from a single mom
Telling me she and her two children are just barely getting by
The child support payments come late and sometimes they don't come at all
The cost of sending the kids to school is growing every day
She is working two jobs just to make ends meet
She says sometimes there is just no light at the end of the tunnel, only darkness
And sometimes she feels like ending it all
I just hope she will remember these words
Wait 'till the darkness is over wait 'till the tempest is gone
Hope for the sunshine tomorrow after the shower is gone
No matter how dark and how turbulent things may seem
The darkness will turn to light and the storm will calm
I hope these folks are listening as I whisper these words of hope
Not just for them but for any one
Who finds himself in a seemingly hopeless situation
It may be the homeless, the sick, the broken family
The business man even the leaders of our country
Anybody can be overcome by sorrow and desperation
And while I am just one man with one voice
I can lift it up in a hopeful message
That wherever there is life there is hope
Whispering hope oh, how welcome Thy voice
Bathing my heart in it's sorrow rejoice Whispering Hope
**********