Old Black Record
Did you hear that old black record that was numbered 221
The rooster on that yellow label told you it was SUN
Did that slap-back echo rock your house back in 1955
When an old blond telecaster brought that magic sound alive
And that black-haired kid from Arkansas sang, "Cry Cry Cry"
He's the reason that I'm singin' now, if you had wondered why
With a piece of paper woven through the strings to get the sound
To play that drivin' rhythm, even with no drums around
But it ain't that black-haired guy alone, and folks, here is the clue
There's some cats a-boppin' with him called the Tennessee Two
They're rockin' through the Southland like you ain't never seen
With "Hey Porter", "Doggone Lonesome", and that "Teenage Queen"
With that big bass fiddle mounted to the top of that old car
They travel 'round the country, play that rhythm near and far
Sometimes their hands will mute the strings, sometimes they let 'em ring
But that beat is drivin' forward, man, with every song they sing
While one line says, "Get Rhythm", why, that ain't hard to do
We're talkin' Memphis, Johnny Cash, and the Tennessee Two
Well, the Lord called Luther home way back in 1968
And for a while, you couldn’t find those brilliant albums that John made
The years went flying by, and now it's 60 years ago
And for a while back in the 80s John R. took it kinda slow
But thank God, the man came back, I hope he came to your hometown
To sing some songs from old black records in that old familiar sound
Words & Music by Bernd Wolf, © 1995