Hank Williams Jr., Don Helms - Ballad of Hank Williams lyrics

Don, tell us how it really was
When you was workin' with daddy

Well, in 1950 I took a little nip
Along with Mr williams on
The way to Mississipp'
We was stacked eight deep
In a Packard limousine
And we met this promoter in
The town of New Orleans

Well, the man told daddy that
He had what it took
And he liked the way he sang and
He liked the way he shook
He said pretty soon he'd make us all rich
And we started believin' that fat sum bitch


Now daddy told the man if
You wanna make some dough
Take a little money and book me on a show
And we played them dates and
We filled the places well but, Hank
He'd done blowed the profit's all to hell

'Cause he'd run through a ten and
He'd run through a twenty
And he'd run through a hundred just
As fast as it could go
Like a big dose of sauce
To a little bitty feller
He'd spend a thousand dollars on
A hundred dollar show

Hank looked at me with a funny lookin' grin
Said, "I've been to the Opry
And I'm goin' back again"
We met the owner in a little office there
A big fat fella with some artificial hair

He told Hank
He wanted half of everything he made
Or he'd have to tell Audrey 'bout
Some women Hank had laid
And you told daddy he'd better get smart
Get rid of them fellas and make a new start

Then he fired my ass and
He fired Jerry Rivers
And he fired everybody just as
Hard as he could go
He fired old Cedric and he fired Sammy Pruitt
And he fired some people that
He didn't even know

Well, every song he made
It went to number one
Y'all was workin' like hell and
He was havin' fun we was ridin' every day
And playin' every night
And every twenty minutes some of
Us had a fight

Now, daddy he was makin'
Money hand over fist
And y'all was gettin' screwed but
You wasn't gettin' kissed
Yeah, I told him to pass a little bit around
But he said he'd rather send it
To his folks in Alabam'

So he fired your ass and
He fired Jerry Rivers
And he fired everybody just as
Hard as he could go
He fired old Cedric and he fired Sammy Pruitt
And he fired some people that
He didn't even know

Now the owner of the Opry
He's a doin' pretty good
He's got a music company
That they call Cedarwood
And Hank played nothin' but sold out halls
And I was pumpin' gas in greasy overalls

'Cause he fired my ass and
He fired Jerry Rivers
And he fired everybody just as
Hard as he could go
He fired old Cedric and he fired Sammy Pruitt
And he fired some people that
He didn't even know


Hank run through a fifty and
He'd run through a hundred
And he'd run through a thousand just
As hard as he could go
Buyin' Cadillac Coupes
Payin' double alimony
And he fired some people that
He didn't even know

Don, you know
You used to work for me one time
I sure remember that
But come to think of it you
Fired my ass back in 1972
Oh, well, it's a family tradition ya know?
Yep, yep, yep but I kept Jerry Rivers
Right, right