Ballad Of Forty Dollars Lyrics

The man who preached the funeral
Said it really was a simple way to die
He laid down to rest one afternoon
And never opened up his eyes

They hired me and Fred and Joe
To dig the grave and carry up some chairs
It took us seven hours
And I guess, we must have drunk a case of beer

I guess, I ought to go and watch them put him down
But I don't own a suit
And anyway when they start talkin' about
The fire in hell, well, I get spooked

So, I'll just sit here in my truck
And act like I don't know him when they pa*s
Anyway, when they're all through
I've got to go to work and mow the gra*s

Well, here they come and who's that
Ridin' in that big ol' shiny limousine
Mmh! look at all that chrome, I do believe
That that's the sharpest thing I've seen

That must belong to his great uncle
Someone said, "He owned a big ol' farm"
When they get parked, I'll mosey down
And look it over, that won't do no harm

Well, that must be the widow in the car
And would you take a look at that?
That sure is a pretty dress
You know, some women do look good in black

Well, he's not even in the ground
And they say that his truck is up for sale
They say, she took it pretty hard
But you can't tell too much behind the veil

Well, listen ain't that pretty
When the bugler plays the, 'Military taps'
I think that when you's in the war
They always hide 'n' play a song like that

Well, here I am and there they go
And I guess, you'd just call it my bad luck
I hope he rests in peace, the trouble is
The fellow owes me forty bucks

Tom T. Hall - Storyteller, Poet, Philosopher

Nov 1995

1. Magnificent Music Machine
2. A Million Miles To The City
3. I Washed My Face In The Morning Dew
4. The Hitch-Hiker
5. Ballad Of Forty Dollars
6. I Hope It Rains At My Funeral
7. Turn It On, Turn It On, Turn It On
8. Strawberry Farms
9. Watergate Blues
10. I Want To See The Parade
11. 100 Children
12. The Year That Clayton Delaney Died
13. The Son Of Clayton Delaney
14. The Old Side Of Town
15. I Can't Dance
16. Last Of The Drifters
17. Mama Bake A Pie (Daddy Kill A Chicken)
18. A Week In A Country Jail
19. Spokane Motel Blues
20. Homecoming
21. Hello, We're Lonely
22. Down At The Mall
23. Fox On The Run
24. Shoeshine Man
25. Flat-Footin' It
26. Old Five And Dimers Like Me
27. Willy The Wandering Gypsy And Me
28. More About John Henry
29. Give Her My Best
30. Pamela Brown
31. I Flew Over Our House Last Night
32. Molly And Tenbrooks
33. The Monkey That Became President
34. That's How I Got To Memphis
35. Mama's Got The Catfish Blues
36. Day Drinkin'
37. Salute To A Switchblade
38. Margie's At The Lincoln Park Inn
39. Subdivision Blues
40. America The Ugly
41. Hang Them All (Get The Guilty)
42. Levi Jones
43. Faster Horses (The Cowboy And The Poet)
44. I'm Forty Now
45. Me And Jesus