1.

(# 1 country hit)

Country Is

Tom T. Hall

© Hallnote Music, BMI

Country is sittin' on the back porch
Listen to the whippoorwills late in the day
Country is mindin' your business
Helpin' a stranger if he comes your way

Country is livin' in the city
Knowin' your people knowin' your kind
Country is what you make it
Country is all in your mind
[ instrumental ]
Country is workin' for a living
Thinkin' your own thoughts lovin' your town
Country is teachin' your children
Find out what's right and stand your ground

Country is a havin' the good times
Listen to the music singin' your part
Country is walkin' in the moonlight
Country is all in your heart

**********

2.

(# 1 country hit)
(# 12 pop hit)

I Love

Tom T. Hall

© Hallnote Music, BMI

I love little baby ducks
Old pickup trucks
Slow movin' trains and rain
I love little country streams
Sleep without dreams
Sunday school in May and hay
And I love you too

I love leaves in the wind
Pictures of my friends
Birds of the world and squirrels
I love coffee in a cup
Little fuzzy pups
Bourbon in a glass and grass
And I love you too

I love honest open smiles
Kisses from a child
Tomatoes on the vine and onions
I love winners when they cry
Losers when they try
Music when it's good and life
And I love you too

**********

3.

The Little Lady Preacher

Tom T. Hall

© Hallnote Music, BMI

Oh the little lady preacher from the Limestone Church
I'll never forget her I guess
She preached each Sunday morning on the local radio
With a big black Bible and a snow white dress

She was nineteen years of age and was developed to the fault
But I will admit she knew the Bible well
A little white lace hankie marked the text that she would use
She breathed into that microphone and sent us all to Hell

She had a guitar picker by the name of Luther Short
A hairy legged soul lost out in sin
She would turn and smile at Luther when the program would commence
With a voice as sweet as angels' she would break out in a hymn

I was pickin' for her too with what we called the doghouse bass
I clung to every word that passed her lips
She was down on booze and cigarettes and high on days to come
And she'd punctuate the prophecy with movements of her hips
[ instrumental ]
The Lord knows how I loved her he was there each time she preached
But old Luther took her home each Sunday morn
Looking back I still recall the way it hurt my tender pride
I longed to be a hero but they're made not born

Sometimes old Luther showed up at the studio half tight
And smoking was a thing he liked to do
She never said a word to him but said a prayer for me
I told her in a way that I've been praying for her too

One Sunday her old man showed up and said that she was gone
Said she and brother Luther had a call
I can see me standin' in that studio that day
I had to face the heartbreak unemployment and all

I don't know where they are cause I ain't seen them people since
Lord if I judge 'em let me give 'em lots of room
I know Luther Short and he's a hard old boy to change
And I've often sat and wondered who it was converted whom

**********

4.

(# 69 country hit)
(# 55 pop hit)

Sneaky Snake

Tom T. Hall

© Hallnote Music, BMI

Boys and girls take warning if you go near the lake
Keep your eyes wide open and look for sneaky snake
Now maybe you won't see him and maybe you won't hear
But he'll sneak up behind you and drink all of your root beer

And then sneaky snake goes dancing wiggling and hissing
Sneaky snake goes dancing giggling and kissing
I don't like ole sneaky snake he laughs too much you see
When he goes wiggling through the grass it tickles his underneath

Well sneaky snake drinks root beer and he just makes me sick
When he is not dancing he looks just like a stick
Now he doesn't have any arms or legs you cannot see his ears
And while we are not looking he's stealing all of our beer

And then sneaky snake goes dancing wiggling and hissing...

**********

5.

(# 4 country hit)

I Like Beer

Tom T. Hall

© Hallnote Music, BMI

The fact that I like to drink beer
This little song is more to the point
Roll out the barrel and lend me your ears

I like beer
It makes me a jolly good fellow
I like beer
It helps me unwind and sometimes it makes me feel mellow
(Makes him feel mellow)
Whiskey's too rough champaigne costs too much
And vodka puts my mouth in gear
This little refrain should help me explain
As a matter of fact I like beer
(He likes beer)

My wife of'en frowns when we're out on the town
And I'm wearin' a suit and a tie
She's sipping vermouth and she thinks I'm uncute
While I yell as the waiter goes by

I like beer...

Last night I dreamed that I passed from the scene
And I went to a place so sublimed
All the water was clear and tasted like beer
Then they turned it all into wine

I like beer...
(Yes he likes beer)

**********

6.

(# 3 country hit)

Ravishing Ruby

Tom T. Hall

© Hallnote Music, BMI

Ravishing Ruby she'd been around for a while
Ravishing Ruby she was a truck-stop child
Born in the back of a rig somewhere near LA
Ravishing Ruby you poured a lotta hot coffee in your day

Ravishing Ruby believed anything you say
Just like her daddy said said he'd be back some day
She was just fourteen she grew up wild and free
And all the time she's been waitin' on him she's been waitin' on you and me

Ravishing Ruby she sleeps in the bunk out back
Her days and nights are filled with dreams of a man named Smiling Jack
That was her daddy's name and that's all she ever knew
Ravishing Ruby ain't got time for guys like me and you

Ravishing Ruby a beautiful young girl now
Ravishing Ruby she made a solemn vow
Waitin' on Smiling Jack he'll come rollin' by
And she wants to see him she wants to touch him either way dead or alive

Ravishing Ruby she sleeps in the bunk out back...

**********

7.

(# 1 country hit)

Old Dogs Children And Watermelon Wine

Tom T. Hall

© Hallnote Music, BMI

How old do you think I am he said I said well I didn't know
He said I turned sixty five about eleven months ago
I was sittin' in Miami pourin' blended whiskey down
When this old grey black gentleman was cleanin' up the lounge

There wasn't anyone around 'cept this old man and me
The guy who ran the bar was watchin' Ironsides on TV
Uninvited he sat down and opened up his mind
On old dogs and children and watermelon wine

Ever had a drink of watermelon wine he asked
He told me all about it though I didn't answer back
Ain't but three things in this world that's worth a solitary dime
But old dogs and children and watermelon wine

He said women think about theyselves when menfolk ain't around
And friends are hard to find when they discover that you're down
He said I tried it all when I was young and in my natural prime
Now it's old dogs and children and watermelon wine

Old dogs care about you even when you make mistakes
God bless little children while they're still too young to hate
When he moved away I found my pen and copied down that line
Bout old dogs and children and watermelon wine
[ instrumental ]
I had to catch a plane up to Atlanta that next day
As I left for my room I saw him pickin' up my change
That night I dreamed in peaceful sleep of shady summertime
Of old dogs and children and watermelon wine

**********

8.

(# 8 country hit)

Deal

Tom T. Hall

© Hallnote Music, BMI

Well life is a gamble and the days they're just so many decks
Oh the hours are cards they deal and you play what you get
Oh you think of the times that you knew you could call so you raised
Oh you think of the times that you got out when you should have stayed

Deal may be the next card's an Ace
Deal you ought to go home but you know that a Flush beats A straight
Oh you can't have a Fullhouse the Queen has been dealt to a friend
Oh the good thing about life is they shuffle and they deal life again

Well the cards are all stacked when you're hot and the women are too
Oh it's a hard cut to take when you raised every hand but you do
Well I'm not complainin' it ain't like a Joker to cry
Oh it won't do to cheat cause you have to cash in when you die

So deal may be the next card's an Ace...

**********

9.

Who's Gonna Feed Them Hogs

Tom T. Hall

© Hallnote Music, BMI

I met him in a hospital about a year ago
And why I still remember him I guess I'll never know
He'd lie there and cry out in a medicated fog
Here I am in this dang bed and who's gonna feed them hogs

Four hundred hogs they're just standing out there
My wife can't feed them and my neighbors don't care
They can't get out and roam around like my old huntin' dogs
Here I am in this dang bed and who's gonna feed them hogs

His face was lean and his hands were rough
His way was hogs and his nature was tough
His doctors tried to tell him that he may not live at all
But all he ever talked about was who's gonna feed them hogs

Four hundred hogs they're just standing out there...
[ instrumental ]
Four hundred hogs comes to eight hundred hams
And that's a lotta money for a hog raising man
Four hundred hogs comes to sixteen hundred feet
The market's up and there are people a waitin' on that meat

Well the doctors say they do not know what saved the man from death
But in a few days he put on his overalls and he left
That's all there is to this small song but waitress 'fore you leave
Would you bring me some coffee and a hot ham sandwich please

Four hundred hogs they're just standing out there
His wife couldn't feed them and his neighbors didn't care
They couldn't get out and roam around like his old huntin' dogs
There he was in that dang bed and who's gonna feed them hogs

**********

10.

(# 2 country hit)
(# 63 pop hit)

That Song Is Driving Me Crazy

Tom T. Hall

© Hallnote Music, BMI

That song is drivin' me crazy I gotta hear it again
First time I heard it I was with some friends
It's a simple little song you can sing along with an old time melody
So would you play that crazy little song again for me

That song is drivin' me crazy I gotta hear it again...

I love that part about break my heart
And baby please come home
And I love that line about hurtin' my mind
And my beer ain't got no foam

That song is drivin' me crazy I gotta hear it again...
[ instrumental ]
Well you'll sing high and I'll sing low
And ev'rybody sing along
But ev'rybody quit while I get my kick
Singin' bring that boogie home

Mhm that song is a drivin' me crazy I gotta hear it again...
Okay gang
That song is drivin' me crazy I gotta hear it again...
That song is drivin' me crazy I gotta hear it again...

**********

11.

(# 1 country hit)

I Care

Tom T. Hall

© Hallnote Music, BMI

And you have a sad feelin' deep in your heart
You wanna go out but it's rainin' out there
I want you to know I care

I care I do there's no one like you
When they take you some place and you sit in a chair
I want you to know I care

When you tell a big lie and your parents are mean
When being grownup is a faraway dream
When you're fillin' your teeth and cuttin' your hair
I want you to know I care

I care I do there's no one like you
I mention your name when I'm sayin' my prayers
I want you to know I care

When you have a bad cough and you can't go out
When you sit for a week with that thing in your mouth
When you sleep in the dark and there's somethin' out there
I want you to know I care

I care I do there's no one like you
And sometimes I act like a grouchy ol' bear
I want you to know I care
I love you too much

**********