1.

Bill Monroe For Breakfast

Tom T. Hall

© Hallnote Music, BMI

When I was just a little boy we lived down on a farm
Seven miles from nowhere and a hundred miles from harm
We made our livin' from the dirt if anything would grow
And we got our country music from a big old radio

And we had Bill Monroe for breakfast every day
Then we'd head out to the fields a hoein' corn and mowin' hay
Aw mama loved his singin' daddy loved to hear him play
And we had Bill Monroe for breakfast every day
[ fiddle - mandolin ]
We had a big old battery that ran the radio
Sometimes we run it down listenin' to the Opry Show
But we all had our instruments and most of us could play
So we had Bill Monroe for breakfast anyway

We had Bill Monroe for breakfast...

Mama was a lady and my daddy liked to preach
All we ever had was just a place to eat and sleep
If I could go back home again back to the simple ways
Oh we'd have Bill Monroe for breakfast every day

We had Bill Monroe for breakfast...
We had Bill Monroe for breakfast every day

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2.

The Beautiful River Of Life

Tom T. Hall - Dixie Hall

© Hallnote Music, BMI

This is a beautiful river (brother) this is a beautiful stream
Tis is a beautiful river (sister) this is a beautiful dream

I know it flows through the mountains
Sometimes there's trouble and strife
This is a beautiful river the beautiful river of life
[ dobro - banjo ]
The river of life is a journey (brother) all of God's children must take
Sharing our moments of glory (sister) learning from all our mistakes

I know it flows through the mountains...

Everyone rides on the river (brother) sometimes it's deep and it's wide
If we don't cross over together (sister) meet you on the other side
I know it flows through the mountains...
Beautiful river of life

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3.

Legend Of The Lady Bear

Tom T. Hall

© Hallnote Music, BMI

Gather round me boys and fill your coffee cups
I'll tell you all a story while you drive them trucks
A story bout a girl who joined the state patrol
The legend of the Lady Bear is how it goes
She married some young trucker she was in her teens
And like all newly weds they had their hopes and dreams
And one night in a snowstorm so the story went
She lost her loving husnamd in an accident
They say she sat and cried for him a year or more
And all she did was think of him and walk the floor
She'd lie there in her bed at night alone and cold
Until one day she joined the highway state patrol
[ guitar ]
Well they say she has a CB and she's on the air
And she goes by the handle of the lady Bear
She never gives a ticket and she works at night
All she does is tell the story of her life
I've heard some truckers say there ain't no Lady Bear
And others say she don't work when the weather's fair
But when the weather's bad she's on the air all night
Begging us to slow down till the weather's right
Well you know I love this story well it could be true
If you're ever in a snowstorm tell you what to do
If you should hear the Lady Bear on your radio
Well tell her I wrote this song and said hello

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4.

Royal Annie

Tom T. Hall

© Hallnote Music, BMI

She wore a big yellow bow in her hair
One morning we wake up she was there
We were a little old out of way town
And all us kids were glad to have her around
You know her castle was an old mobile home
She didn't even have a cellular phone
She lived on cigarettes and cookies and tea
And said she once had a show on TV
And all us kids around town called her Royal Annie
She talked to babies who had never been born
Said she had dresses that she never had worn
She had sweethearts who come out of the air
And said she had a lock Elvis' hair
She pushed an old shopping cart around town
She wore sneakers and an old satin gown
She wore diamonds and we knew they were fake
Said she once gave Dolly Parton a break
And all us kids around town called her Royal Annie
She'd sit and stare at the bright morning sun
We were suspicious that she carried a gun
They once considered puttin' Annie in jail
She never ever went to pick up her mail
Then one day there was a big limousine
Came to town and caused a terrible scene
A bunch of doctors and lawyers they say
And they came to take Annie away
And all us kids around town called her Royal Annie
When Royal Annie was gone I recall
They had a meeting at a community hall
They wrote a letter and were tryin' to say
They hoped that Annie had enjoyed her stay
Well they'd been looking for her over a year
They were surprised to find her living out here
And Royal Annie sent a small none of thanks
And she had 10 million bucks in the bank
And all us kids around town called her Royal Annie
All us kids around town called her Royal Annie

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5.

Waiting On The Other Shoe To Fall

Tom T. Hall

© Hallnote Music, BMI

When I was a young man I busted my jeans
Hopping a freight down to New Orleans
Worked on the oil rigs and played in the bars
But nothing ever killed me so far

Now I'm waitin' on the other shoe to fall
And right now you're walking out on me
I can hear your footsteps going down the hall
And I am waitin' on the other shoe to fall
[ fiddle ]
Well I joined the army and I did my time
They sent me right up to the front lines
People were shoutin' and shootin' at me
But I had to keep America free

Now I'm waitin' on the other shoe to fall...
[ dobro ]
I've been to California and I've been to New York
And all in between I had beans on my fork
Clothes on my back and a song on my mind
But I've never met a woman like your kind
Now I'm waitin' on the other shoe to fall...
[ fiddle ]
Well right down the street there's an old boarding house
You better be careful bout throwing me out
When she hears my footsteps coming up their stairs
She's gonna start combing her hair
She's a waitin' on the other shoe to fall
Right now you're walking out on me
I can hear your footsteps going down the hall
And she is waitin' on the other shoe to fall

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6.

Local Flowers

Tom T. Hall - Dixie Hall

© Hallnote Music, BMI

I have traveled this world over I have rambled all my days
When my journeys have all ended place some flowers on my grave

Local flowers just some daisies wildwood flowers from the hills
Where I will spend my eternal hours lay me down with local flowers
[ ac.guitar ]
Please don't buy those red carnations I don't need the lilies fair
Just go walking on the mountain gather what is blooming there

Rosemary means that you'll remember clover's sweet as the love we shared
Myrtle says that you will miss me rambling roses say you cared

Local flowers just some daisies...
[ ac.guitar ]
Let the bird sing from the tree tops let the grass grow where it may
No arrangements no bright ribbons just a simple wild bouquet

Local flowers just some daisies...

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7.

Watertown Tennessee

Tom T. Hall

© Hallnote Music, BMI

I got a little farm and it's mostly rock
It ain't too much but it's all I got
Bluebirds singing in the evergreen trees in Watertown Tennessee
Hey Watertown Tennessee
People in Watertown will never do die
When they reach a hundred they can truly fly
Sail into heaven on a southerly breeze in Watertown Tennessee
Hey Watertown Tennessee
[ mandolin ]
I had me an outhouse down by the creek
Prettiest outhouse you ever did see
Flood came along now I'm up the creek in Watertown Tennessee
Hey Watertown Tennessee
Well a big old redhawk circling around
Looking for a chicken down here on the ground
Sometimes he gets as high as me in Watertown Tennessee
Hey Watertown Tennessee
[ ac.guitar ]
When I get to heaven if I ever do die
I'm a gonna cut me a hole in the sky
Sittin' in a mansion and all I'll see is Watertown Tennessee
Hey Watertown Tennessee
Now if you want to be famous and you want to be rich
People in Watertown taught me a trick
I'm gonna tell it if I stay around
Long whups that's the end of this song
Called Watertown Tennessee

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8.

The Way I've Always Been

Tom T. Hall

© Hallnote Music, BMI

I took your picture from the table and now I'm finally alone
Took your number from my rolodex I might get weak and call your phone
I got my chainsaw from your brother I did all of this and then
There ain't nothing new about me I'm just the way I've always been

Stopped at Harry's for a cold beer and Danny won the football pool
John Garcetti's back to drinking they caught his kids with drugs at school
And everybody has their problems now you're gone and mine begin
There ain't nothing new about me I'm just the way I've always been

I'm just the way I've always been I love you now I loved you then
Same old faults and same old friends I'm just the way I've always been
[ dobro ]
Your uncle called about my pickup he'd like to use it for a day
I told him come ahead and get it cause I don't need it anyway
He doesn't know that you don't live here I guess I'll have to tell our friends
Cause there ain't nothing new about me I'm just the way I've always been

I'm just the way I've always been...

**********

9.

Life Don't Have To Mean Nothing At All

Tom T. Hall

© Hallnote Music, BMI

Now if you want to be happy let me tell you how to do it
You get up in the morning and you get right to it
Bring home the bacon and make a little bread
You get a little sleepy and you go back to bed
Life don't have to mean nothing at all
Well if everybody says you're a little too tall
Go out and get yourself a basketball
Dye your hair orange and put a ring in your ear
You can make 47 million dollars a year
Life don't have to mean nothing at all
Now if everybody says you're a little too short
Go out and get yourself a big ol' horse
You can be a yockey if you got no fear
You can make 47 million dollars a year
Life don't have to mean nothing at all
Life don't have to mean nothing at all
Be good to your sinster and good to your brother
Be good to your papa and good to your mother
Life don't have to mean nothing at all
Now if you're a con man lookin' for a pigeon
Go out and start a brand new religion
Get on TV and make a money request
They can all go to heaven while you're starving to death
Life don't have to mean nothing at all
Now if everybody says you're a little too rough
Go out and get yourself some boxing gloves
Beat up somebody around the ears
You can make 47 million dollars a year
Life don't have to mean nothing at all
Life don't have to mean nothing at all
Be good to your sinster and good to your brother
You might even try to be good to one another
Life don't have to mean nothing at all
Now if everybody says you're a little too slick
Get yourself into politics
Get that office and get that power
And you can spend 47 million dollars an hour
Life don't have to mean nothing at all
Now if you can pick a guitar and sing through your nose
Get yourself a bunch of those cowboy clothes
Sing about dying and shedding them tears
You can make 47 million dollars a year
Life don't have to mean nothing at all
Life don't have to mean nothing at all
Don't trouble your mind or worry your soul
Bout stuff that you ain't supposed to know
Life don't have to mean nothing at all

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10.

Back When The Old Homeplace Was New

Tom T. Hall

© Hallnote Music, BMI

Well the children come back to see the old homeplace
They don't see a thing that they like
The old well out back with its cool clear water don't fit into their style of life
The old gravel road that leads to the old homeplace gets dust on their new shiny cars
Well they didn't complain about nothing to do back when the old homepclace was new

Back when the old homepclace was new
There was plenty to see and to do
But they can't remember and I ain't gonna tell 'em
Back when the old homepclace was new
[ harmonica ]
There's an old swimming hole about a half mile away
An old tire still swings from a tree
I've got an old jar full of lightening and bugs and a dogfishin' weren't just today
They can't get on line from my old telephone and I ain't got no cable TV
Oh we used to tell stories and some of them true
Back when the old homepclace was new

Back when the old homepclace was new...
[ harmonica ]
The toys they treasured are stashed in the attic except for a rusty old bike
There's a big ball of string in a drawer in the kitchen
They used to use flying their kites
There's a battered old can out there by the toolshed
An old can that they used to kick
They sit on the porch and they stare down the driveway
They just can't see living like this

Back when the old homepclace was new...

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11.

What A Song

Tom T. Hall

© Hallnote Music, BMI

You know they played that melody the first time that you danced with me
And way back then I didn't even know the words
Then they played that sing again when our love came to an end
It was the saddest happy song I ever heard

What a song what a song you know I've heard it for so long
You know it seems to be the theme song from my whole life
A simple tune simple lines but every time it comes to mind
I always think oh what a song what a song
[ fiddle ]
Well I don't know who made it up I only know the way it touched
The very heart and soul of me with every note
When everything it said and done when all the other songs are sung
I hope they play the greatest song they ever wrote

What a song what a song...

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