GREATEST HITS
(Columbia CS-9285)
May/1966
Produced by Don Law & Frank Jones
1.
BIG BAD JOHN
(Jimmy Dean)
« © '61 Acuff-Rose Music, BMI »
(Big John Big John)
Every mornin' at the mine you could see him arrive
He stood six foot six and weighed 2-45
Kinda broad at the shoulder and narrow at the hip
And everybody knew you didn't give no lip to Big John
(Big John Big John) Big Bad John (Big John)
Nobody seemed to know where John called home
Just drifted into town and stayed all alone
He didn't say much he kinda quiet and shy
And if you spoke at all you just said hi to Big John
Somebody said he came from New Orleans
Where he got in a fight over a Cajun Queen
And a crashin' blow from a huge right hand
Sent a Louisiana fellow to the Promised Land Big John
(Big John Big John) Big Bad John (Big John)
Then came the day at the bottom of the mine
When a timber cracked and men started cryin'
Miners were prayin' and hearts beat fast
And everybody thought that they'd breathed their last cept John
Through the dust and the smoke of this man made hell
Walked a giant of a man that the miners knew well
Grabbed a saggin' timber and gave out with a groan
And like a giant oak tree he just stood there alone Big John
(Big John Big John) Big Bad John (Big John)
And with all of his strenght he have a mighty shove
Then a miner yelled out there's a light up above
And twenty men screamed from a would be grave
Now there's only one left down there to save Big John
With jacks and timbers they started back down
Then came that rumble way down in the ground
And the smoke and gas belched out of the mine
Everybody knew it way the end of the line for Big John
(Big John Big John) Big Bad John (Big John)
Now they never reopened that worthless pit
They just placed a marbled stand in front of it
These few words're written on that stand
At the bottom of this mine lies a big big man Big John
(Big John Big John) Big Bad John
(Big John Big John) Big Bad John
**********
2.
CAJUN QUEEN
(Wayne P. Walker)
« © '66 Cedarwood Publishing, BMI / Songs Of PolyGram, BMI »
She kinda breezed into town from New Orleans
And said boys I'm Big John's Cajun Queen
Now I didn't come here to argue or waste anybody's time
I just come to get my man from your dirty old mine cause he moves me
Now where you give up's where old Queen's gonna start
Cause I got a powerful love in my heart
So just show me the hole down in the ground
And tell the whole wide world Big John's been found and he's livin'
So down in the mine without a sign of a light
Old Queenie went a lookin' for John that night
She found him there at the bottom of the pit
And placed a red hot kiss on those cold blue lips he started breathin'
She waited a minute and then she kissed him again
And old John got the power of a hundred men
Up he come a clawin' and a diggin' like a mole
And said come on Queenie we're gonna leave this hole they started walkin'
Now a roar from the crowd greeted this fine pair
As they both walked out in that cool night air
And up for silence went Big John's hand
And the Queen said I told you I'd get my man cause he moves me
You can find 'em today they're down in New Orleans
Big Bad John and his Cajun Queen
They're a little bit wrinkled from the strain of time
But their love's just as strong as that night in the mine
A hundred and ten grandchildren
Now the moral of this story has a clear real omen
Don't you ever underestimate the power of a woman
**********
3.
HARVEST OF SUNSHINE
(Jimmy Dean - Ruth Roberts - William Katz)
« © '65 Plainview Diner Music, BMI »
A harvest of sunshine a sky full of blue
A haystack of happiness and buckets of dreams come true
And all the things in whole the world all that I wish for you
It's just a harvest of sunshine and a sky full of blue
(A harvest) a harvest (of sunshine) nothing but sunshine (and a sky full of blue)
And a great big sky full of blue
A haystack of happiness and buckets of dreams come true
Hey look and see though you may be one of one hundred and two
You've got a harvest of sunshine and a sky full of blue
A great big harvest of sunshine and a sky full of blue
**********
4.
LITTLE BLACK BOOK
(Jimmy Dean)
« © '62 Plainview Diner Music, BMI »
**********
5.
STEEL MEN
(David Martin)
« © '62 Southside Music, BMI »
**********
6.
FIRST THING EV'RY MORNING
(Jimmy Dean - Ruth Roberts)
« © '65 Plainview Diner Music, BMI »
The first thing every morning and the last thing every night
I think of you and all the things I say and do
If only you were here to whisper sweet things to
I tell you how much I love you how I'm longing to hold you tight
The first thing every morning and the last thing every night
Oh I tell you how much I love you...
The very first thing every morning and the last thing every night
**********
7.
SAM HILL
(Tommy Collins)
« © '64 Central Songs, BMI »
There's a certain hill outside of town called Sam Hill
And a certain guy used to go there every day
They said a certain girl lived up in Sam Hill
Oh a pretty girl not have the city ways
This certain guy would come down the hill a smilin'
Headin' back for town at the crack of dawn
And he had 'em all a wonderin' what he was doin'
Yeah a wonderin' what the Sam Hill's goin' on
We knew this certain guy was not a gold miner
Cause he never took a shovel or pick
He only took a little box of candy
And disappeared in Sam Hill mighty quick
We'd tried to follow him to his destination
But he had a secret path and soon he was gone
And he had us all a wonderin' what he was doin'
Yeah a wonderin' what the Sam Hill's goin' on
I know that you have wondered too about Sam Hill
You've prob'bly asked what the Sam Hill's goin' on
All I can say and answer to your question is the goin's on are still goin' on
This certain guy's still takin' up his candy he's 99 and all his youth is gone
But he climbs that hill and still comes down a smillin'
And we're wonderin' what the Sam Hill's goin' on
Wish I knew what the Sam Hill's goin' on
He won't tell us what the Sam Hill's goin' on
**********
8.
P. T. 109
(Marijohn Wilkin - Fred Burch)
« © '62 Cedarwood Publishing, BMI »
In '43 they put to sea thirteen men and Kennedy
Aboard the PT 109 to fight the brazen enemy
And off the isle of Olasana in the straight beyond Naru
A Jap destroyer in the night cut the 109 in two
Smoke and fire upon the sea everywhere they looked was the enmy
The heaten gods of old Japan yeah they had the best of a mighty good men
And on the coast of Kolobangara looking through this telescope
Australian Evans saw the battle for the crew had little hope
Two were dead and some were wounded all were clinging to the bow
Fightin' fire and flightin' water tryin' to save themselves somehow
Smoke and fire upon the sea...
McMahon the Irishman was burned so badly he couldn't swim
Leave me here go on he said cause if you don't we'll all be dead
The PT skipper couldn't leave him a man to die alone at sea
And with a strap between his teets he towed the Irishman through to sea
Smoke and fire upon the sea...
He led his men through waters dark rocky reefs and hungry sharks
He braved the enemy's bayonets a thirty eight hung round his neck
Four more days and four more nights a rescue boat pulled into sight
The PT 109 was gone but Kennedy and his crew lived on
Now who could guess who could possibly know that same man named Kennedy
Would be the leader of the nation be the one to take command
The PT 109 was gone but Kennedy lived to fight again
Smoke and fire upon the sea everywhere they looked was the enemy
But JFK and his crew lived on
Which proves it's hard to get the best of a man named John
(Big John Big John Big John Big John Big John Big John)
**********
9.
TO A SLEEPING BEAUTY
(Larry Markes)
« © '61 Songsmiths Co, ASCAP »
Dear daughter I tiptoed to your room tonight
And I looked down at you smiling in your sleep
You were so lovely my heart nearly broke
And I thought how very much like sleeping beauty a little girl is
When I tuck you in at night I never know how old you'll be when you wake
One evening you crawl on your dad's lap and throw your arms around his neck
The next morning you might be much too grownup for that sort of thing
You're so quickly approachin' my awkward age
Too young to drive a car and yet too old to be carried
Into the house half asleep on daddy's shoulder
I have a secret that I've never told you Sleeping Beauty
You're going on a very exciting trip
You'll travel from yesterday all the way to tomorrow
It's a rapid journey and you'll travel light
Leavin' behind your measles mumps freckles bumps bubblegum and me
I promise not to feel too hurt when you discover
That the world is more important than your daddy's lap
Yesterday you were blue-jeaned and pig-tailed the neighborhood's best tree-climber
Tomorrow you'll be blue-organdie and ponny-tailed
And you'll view the world from a loftier perch a pair of high-heel shoes
Yesterday you could mend a doll's broken leg with a hug
Tomorrow you'll be able to break a young man's heart with a kiss
Ha ha yesterday you could get lost one aisle away from me in a supermarket
Now I have to worry about losin' you down another aisle to some strange young man
You see just at the point where your growing pains stop mine begin
Yesterday you were kind of a pain in the neck when you were around
Tomorrow you'll be an ache in my heart when you're not
Tomorrow you'll lay aside your jumprope and tie up the telephone lines
And that little boy that used to push you in the mud
Well he'll fight to set out a dance with you
The clock upstairs is countin' the minutes for you
And the sky upstairs is savin' its brightest stars
And the sun is waitin' with its shinest day
Oh I can't expect you to live in a dollhouse forever
Sooner or later the butterfly sheds its cocoon and the smallest bird must try its wings
But when you grow up and out of my arms when you finally get too big for my shirts
I'll still recall how you used to scatter dust and dolls
And partially through every room in the house but you spread sunshine too
The dust is settled your mom picked up the dolls
But the sunshine will always fill the corners of our hearts
So here I am talkin' in your sleep
Because well if you saw this look on my face you'd laugh
And if I spoke with this lump in my throat I'd cry
Yeah honey when I looked at you tonight you were a Sleeping Beauty
So I tiptoed over and I kissed you you didn't wake up I knew you wouldn't
According to the legend only the handsome young prince can open your eyes
And I'm just the father of a future bride
So you sleep on pretty thing tomorrow you'll awake and you'll be a young lady
And you won't even realize that you've changed courses in the middle of a dream
But you might notice this little change in me
I look a little different somehow a little sadder a little wiser but a whole lot richer
Tonight I kissed a princess and I feel like a king
**********
10.
FARMER AND THE LORD
(Jim Wilson)
« © '57 ATV Songs, BMI »
While resting the other evening by the side of the road
I saw an old farmer in the field that he just hold
His face was all brown and wrinkled by the sun and the wind
And he was talking to the Lord just like he'd be talking to a friend
Well he said with his voice calm and quiet
Them corn tassels need sucking I got no strenght to tie it
Had no rain in so long that the fields are mighty dusty
And it's been so unbearable hot that the kids were even gettin' fussy
Now that grass down and the pasture it should be knee high
If we could just have a little shower Lord it might keep the calf from going dry
Oh but listen to me talking you'd think I wasn't grateful
Why if you didn't know me so well Lord you'd think I was down right hateful
You'd think I frogot about that new calf that you sent
And the money in the mail that took care of the rent
Mama's cough's better and Johnny's home from the navy
And that good Sunday dinner of hot chicken and dumplings and gravy
And that new preacher you sent us Lord he's sure a fine young man
Why he's just convertin' them sinners to beat the man
Well I guess I'll mosey on home now Lord I won't take no more your time
I guess there's plenty folks here about waitin' to ring your line
Evening to you Lord and watch us over tonight
Don't you worry about us now Lord cause everything is gonna be all right
**********
11.
I WON'T GO HUNTIN' WITH YOU JAKE
(BUT I'LL GO CHASIN' WIMMIN')
(Stuart Hamblen)
« © '49 Hamblen Music, ASCAP »
Oh it's springtime in the mountains and I'm full of mountain dew
Can't even read my catalog like I used to do
I'm a sittin' in that little shed that's right back off the house
Here comes ol' Jake with all the hounds but he's gonna hear me shout
I won't go huntin' with you Jake but I'll go chasin' wimmin'
So put them hounds back in the pen and quit your silly grinnin'
Well the moon is bright and I'm half tight my life is just beginnin'
I won't go huntin' with you jake but I'll go chasin' wimmin'
Let's go down to the meetin' house and wait till they start home
Them gals that live on Possum Creek will always leave alone
We'll run 'em down the corn row them sassy little misses
We'll scare them pretty gals to death we'll stop and blow 'em kisses
Well I won't go huntin' with you Jake...
[ rh.banjo ]
Now wash your face and comb your hair cause it's darn near time to start
But let me tell you fore you go there's no one that's got my heart
Don't chase that gal with the yellow hair and wearin' dress of green
Well that little gal belongs to me I know she's past sixteen
Oh I won't go huntin' with you Jake...
Now I was headin' for the general store when a silly thing I've seen
They make 'em in the city it's called a magazine
I turned to page 32 and look at what I found
Them gals wear clothes that we ain't seen beneath them gigham gowns
Oh I won't go huntin' with you Jake...
**********