Why do I let myself worry?
Wondering
What in the world did I do
Crazy
For thinking that my love could hold you
I'm crazy for trying
Crazy for crying
And I'm crazy
For loving you
The Part Where I Cry
Life is a picture in which I play the lead
But my biggest line was goodbye
Now my leading lady has walked out on me
And this is the part where I cry
I was great in the scene
Where she found someone new
You should have seen my look of surprise
And if you have just walked into the picture
This is the part where I cry
And after the picture is over
And it's judged for the part where she lied
The award of achievement that's given
Will be mine for the part where I cry
Wake Me When It's Over
I'm getting tired now
I gotta get some sleep now
I guess I've been worried much too long
And don't wake me till it's over
When the need for you is gone
I was so happy before I loved you
I want to be like I was before
So don't wake me till it's over
When I won't want you anymore
My eyes are getting weak now
Gotta get some sleep now
I gotta rest my aching head
I just wanna lay here
Just let me stay here
Till the blues get up
And leave my bed
Good night, darling
Good night, darling
Good night forevermore
And don't wake me till it's over
When I won't want you anymore
My eyes are getting weak now
I gotta get some sleep now
I gotta rest my aching head
Just let me lay here
Let me stay here
Till the blues get up
And leave my bed
Good night darling
Good night darling
Good night forevermore
And don't wake me till it's over
When I won't want you anymore
Three Days
There are three days I know that I'll be blue
Three days that I'll always dream of you
And it does no good to wish these days would end
'Cause these same three days start over again
Three days that I dread to see arrive
Three days that I hate to be alive
Three days filled with tears and sorrow
Yesterday, today, and tomorrow
This song was inspired by a joke I had heard. A drunk walked up to a guy on the street and said, “I ain't eaten in three day s. Yesterday, today, and tomorrow.”
One Step Beyond
I'm just one step before losing you
And I'm just one step ahead of the blues
But I know that there's been pain and misery
Long before this old world ever heard of me
And I know it will hurt to see you go
But we'll just add one more heartache to the score
And though I still love you as before
I'm just one step beyond caring anymore
Bet that you're surprised that I could feel this way
After staying home and waiting night and day
For someone who cared so much for me
You'd come home just long enough to laugh at me
I don't know just when my feelings changed
I just know I could never feel the same
And though I still love you as before
Darkness on the Face of the Earth
The morning that you left me
Was just another day
How could I see the sorrow that had found me?
And then you laughed and told me
That I was in your way
And I turned and ran as heaven fell around me
I stumbled through the darkness
My footsteps were unsure
I lived within a world that had no sunshine
When you left me darling
My world came to an end
And there was darkness on the face of the earth
The stars fell out of heaven
The moon could not be found
The sun was in a million pieces
Scattered all around
Why did you ever leave me?
You knew how it would hurt
And now there's darkness on the face of the earth
Where My House Lives
Stop here, across the street to your right
That's where my house lives
Sometimes I stayed there at night
But mostly I was on the move
Business first, you know
And she'd wait there in her lonely room
But oh, that's been so long ago
She's gone now
She couldn't stand to be alone
And now it waits there
This house that used to be my home
I never go there 'cause it holds too many memories
Since she's gone
But right there is where my house
Lives all alone
HARLAN HOWARD, my old songwriting buddy, once said, “If I ever think about getting married again, I'm just gonna find some gal that I don't like too much and buy her a house.”
Misery Mansion
Misery mansion
So cold and so gray
You look so lonely
Since she went away
Misery mansion
What secrets you hide
Of a love
That has faded and died
You know all the reasons
Why she said goodbye
And you stand there in silence
While I sit and cry
Misery mansion
Oh, how you've changed
Your walls hold the sorrow
That loneliness brings
A love of a lifetime
Forever is gone
Misery mansion, my home
Home Motel
What used to be my home has changed
To just a place to stay
A crumbling last resort when day is through
Sometimes between sundown and dawn
Somehow I find my way
To this home motel
On Lost Love Avenue
No one seems to really care
If I come here at all
And the one who seems to care the least is you
I'm gonna hang a neon sign
With letters big and blue
Home Motel
On Lost Love Avenue
No one seems to really care
If I come here at all
And the one who seems to care the least is you
I'm gonna hang a neon sign
With letters big and blue
Home Motel
On Lost Love Avenue
Lonely Little Mansion
I'm a lonely little mansion for sale
Furnished with everything but love
To come live in me
I've got a large picture window
And a yard filled with trees
The sign reads “two stories”
And that's all that's for sale
But there's so many stories
I could tell
My windows are closed
And I'm gasping for air
My carpets are spotted
With tear stains here and there
A torn photograph still lies on my floor
And two sweethearts don't live here anymore
I'm a lonely little mansion for sale
And for someone I'd fit just like a glove
I'm a lonely little mansion for sale
Furnished with everything but love
I Just Stopped By
I just stopped by to see the house I used to live in
I hope that you don't mind
I won't stay very long
So long ago someone and I lived here together
And then so suddenly I found myself alone
I couldn't stand the thought
Of living here without her
And so I moved away to let my memories die
But my memories outlived my better judgment
This may sound strange to you
But I just thought I'd stop by
The very door you're standing in
She used to stand there
And wait for me to come home every night
And when I'd see her standing there
I'd run to meet her
These things were on my mind
So I just thought I'd stop by
I guess that I should leave
Someone just might not understand
And I'm aware of how the neighbors like to pry
But you can tell them all today
A most unhappy man
Was in the neighborhood
And he just thought he'd stop by
HARLAN HOWARD, ROGER MILLER, AND I used to have a lot of fun together at the BMI Awards dinners in Nashville. We would sit right down front, drink white Russians, and run Frances Preston crazy. As Nashville's head of BMI, it was her job to try and make everyone happy. God bless her. She did it better than anybody. Every time an award was announced, Harlan, Roger, and I would all three jump up and accept it. By the time the real winner got to the podium, things were a bit confusing. Frances smiled through the whole thing. She was the best, she's a treasure. I love you, Frances. You put up with a lot between me, Harlan, Roger, and Hank Cochran.
By the way, Hank was responsible for me signing with Pamper Music in the early '60s. Instead of taking his fifty-dollar-a-week raise in salary as a writer, he convinced Pamper Music to give it to me. It was then I felt like a professional songwriter. Thanks, Hank.
I came to town with “Night Life,” “Mr. Record Man,” “Crazy,” “Funny How Time Slips Away,” and a few others. Hank had heard some of my songs one night at Tootsie's Orchid Lounge in Nashville. Everyone hung out at Tootsie's. She loved all the crazy people, Fluffo and Flutter Lips (better known as Wayne Walker and Mel Tillis), Faron Young, Hank, Charlie Dick (Patsy Cline's husband), Little Jimmy Dickens, and Billy Walker.
Tootsie
Billy Walker soon had a hit with “Funny How Time Slips Away.” He had helped me out one time in Springfield, Missouri, and now again in Nashville. He is a real friend. A smart man once said if you go through life and make one real friend, you are a lucky person. T. Texas Tyler, another old buddy of mine, said that he was a man with a million friends—so I know I'm in there somewhere. I feel like I have a lot of real good friends.
Funny How Time Slips Away
Well, hello there
My it's been a long, long time
How am I doin'?
Oh, I guess that I'm doing fine
It's been so long now
But it seems like
It was only yesterday
Gee, ain't it funny
How time slips away?
How's your new love?
I hope that he's doing fine
I heard you told him
That you'd love him till the end of time
Now, that's the same thing
That you told me
Seems like just the other day
Gee, ain't it funny
How time slips away?
Gotta go now
I guess I'll see you around
Don't know when though
Never know when I'll be back in town
But just remember
What I tell you
In time, you're gonna pay
And it's surprising
How time slips away
Mr. Record Man
Mr. Record Man, I'm looking for
A song I heard today
There was someone blue singing about
Someone who went away
Just like me his heart was yearning
For a love that used to be
It's a lonely song about a lonely man, like me
I was driving down the highway
With my radio turned on
And the man that I heard singing
Seemed so blue and all alone
As I listened to his lonely song
I wondered could it be
Could there somewhere be another lonely man,
like me?
There was something about a love
That didn't treat him right
And he'd wake from troubled sleep
And cry her name at night
Mister Record Man, oh get this record for me
Won't you please
It's a lonely song about a lonely man, like me
SOME OF THE FUNNIEST STORIES to come out of Nashville are about Hank Snow, the “Singing Ranger.” He was a huge country music star in the 1950s and '60s who was born in Canada. His first hit, “Brand on My Heart,” was one of my all-time favorites.
Hank and I did an album together, one of the highlights of my life. Not only was he a gentleman, but he was an excellent example for young artists to try to follow.
His fiddle player, Chubby Wise, also a great musician, was Hank's right-hand man for years. One night, Hank was performing his show and the spotlight was in his eyes, and he got too close to the orchestra pit and fell in. He looked up and said, “Goddamn it, Chubby. Why don't you watch where I'm going?”
Once, Chubby stood up to take a fiddle course and got a little too close to Hank. His fiddle bow caught Hank's toupee, took it off, and sailed it out into the crowd. Hank kept singing, Chubby kept fiddling, and someone went home with Hank Snow's hair. Only in country music.
Nashville, 1961
Congratulations
I can tell that you're already growing tired of me
You want no part of me
Even started lying to me
And if you started out to break this heart inside of me
Congratulations to you, dear
You're doing fine
I pass you on the street and you don't speak to me
You just look at me
Then you walk away from me
If you started out to make a fool of me
Congratulations to you, dear
You're doing fine
Well, you should be commended for
The sorrow you caused me
How does it feel to be the queen of misery?
(So) if you started out
to break this heart inside of me
Congratulations to you, dear
You're doing fine
Hello Walls
Hello walls
How'd things go for you today?
Don't you miss her
Since she up and walked away?
And I'll bet you dread to spend
Another lonely night with me
But, lonely walls, I'll keep you company
Hello window
Well, I see that you're still here
Aren't you lonely
Since our darling disappeared?
Well, look here, is that a teardrop
In the corner of your pane?
Now, don't you try to tell me that it's rain
She went away
And left us all alone
The way she planned
Guess we'll have to learn to get along
Without her if we can
Hello ceiling
I'm gonna stare at you awhile
You know I can't sleep
So won't you bear with me awhile?
We must all stick together
Or else I'll lose my mind
'Cause I've got a feeling
She'll be gone a long, long time
Years ago, Hank and Faron Young, another great character in country music, were on the same bill together. Over the years, they had never gotten along very well but found themselves backstage in a dressing room together, having a drink and telling jokes. Faron said, “Hank, here we are backstage having a great time drinking and joking together. Normally we wouldn't even speak to each other.”
Hank said, “Oh, Faron. I'd say hello.”
Faron Young was one of the first people I met when I got to Nashville. I met him at Tootsie's Orchid Lounge. I was jamming upstairs with Buddy Emmons and Jimmy Day (two of the greatest steel guitar players in the world), Hank Cochran, and a few more. Faron came in and I sang him a couple of my songs, “Congratulations” and “Hello Walls.” He recorded them both. The record came out and was a huge hit.
Before the money started coming in, I was still broke, making a living playing bass on the road with Ray Price. A good job, but not much money. I saw Faron at Tootsie's and I offered to sell him all the rights to “Hello Walls” for five hundred dollars. He said, “You're crazy! That song has already sold more than that. Here's the five hundred. Pay me back when you have it.”
He really did me a favor. Since then, “Hello Walls” has earned well more than a million dollars. Thank you, Faron.
My first royalty check was for twenty thousand dollars. When I finally got it, I found Faron at Tootsie's and immediately grabbed him around the neck and planted a big kiss on his mouth. I probably shouldn't say anything now that he's gone, but I think he liked it. I tried to pay him the five hundred dollars that I owed him, but he wouldn't take it. I was raising calves at the time to try and sell, so Faron said, “Why don't you just give me one of those calves when you get him fattened up and we'll call it even.”
Faron Young and me
The months went by, then the years. One day I saw Faron at Toot-sie's again. He said, “That calf must weigh about six thousand pounds by now!”
We had a good laugh, but he still wouldn't let me pay him.
Many years later, I was playing the Austin Livestock Show and Rodeo. That night at the charity auction, my son Billy decided to bid on this registered Seminole bull. He wound up with the winning bid of seventeen thousand dollars. That was about seven thousand dollars more than I made that night. I couldn't give it back, it was a charity auction. I could write it off … right? Anyway, now I have a two-thousand-pound bull. What the hell am I going to do with it? My son Billy said, “Dad, we can make a killing in breeding fees!”