"How old do you think I am," he said?
I said, well, I didn't know.
He said, "I turned 65 about 11 months ago."
I was sittin' in Miami, pouring blended whiskey down
When this old gray, black gentleman was cleaning up the lounge.
There wasn't anyone around, except this old man and me.
The guy who ran the bar was watching Ironside on TV.
Uninvited, he sat down and opened up his mind
On old dogs and children and watermelon wine.
"Ever had a drink of watermelon wine," he asked.
He told me all about it, though I didn't answer back.
"Ain't but three things in this world that's worth a solitary dime,
But old dogs and children and watermelon wine."
He said, "Women think about themselves, when men-folk ain't around.
And friends are hard to find when they discover that you're down."
He said, "I tried it all when I was young and in my natural prime,
Now it's old dogs and children and watermelon wine."
"Old dogs care about you even when you make mistakes.
God bless little children while they're still to young to hate."
When he moved away I found my pen and copied down that line
About old dogs and children and watermelon wine.
I had to catch a plane up to Atlanta that next day.
As I left for my room I saw him picking up my change.
That night I dreamed in peaceful sleep of shady summertime,
Of old dogs and children and watermelon wine.
Tom T. Hall
Other Tom T. Hall Songs and Lyrics
A Picture of Your Mother, A Week In A Country Jail,
Ballad of Forty Dollars, Beer Drinker's Waltz,
Bourbon Man, Candy in the Window, Homecoming,
Faster Horses, I Hope It Rains At My Funeral,
I Like Beer, I Miss A Lot of Trains,
I Want To See The Parade, Shoeshine Man,
It Sure Can Get Cold In Des Moines,
Magnificent Music Machine, Strawberry Farms,
Nashville Is A Groovy Little Town,
One of The Mysteries of Life,
Pinto The Wonder Horse Is Dead,
Spokane Motel Blues, The Hitch-hiker,
That's How I Got To Memphis, Tulsa Telephone Book,
The Monkey That Became President,The Hitch-hiker
Who's Gonna Feed Them Hogs
When this old gray, black gentleman was cleaning up the lounge.
The guy who ran the bar was watching Ironside on TV.
Uninvited, he sat down and opened up his mind
On old dogs and children and watermelon wine.
He told me all about it, though I didn't answer back.
"Ain't but three things in this world that's worth a solitary dime,
But old dogs and children and watermelon wine."
And friends are hard to find when they discover that you're down."
He said, "I tried it all when I was young and in my natural prime,
Now it's old dogs and children and watermelon wine."
God bless little children while they're still to young to hate."
When he moved away I found my pen and copied down that line
About old dogs and children and watermelon wine.
As I left for my room I saw him picking up my change.
That night I dreamed in peaceful sleep of shady summertime,
Of old dogs and children and watermelon wine.
Tom T. Hall
Other Tom T. Hall Songs and Lyrics
Ballad of Forty Dollars, Beer Drinker's Waltz,
Bourbon Man, Candy in the Window, Homecoming,
Faster Horses, I Hope It Rains At My Funeral,
I Like Beer, I Miss A Lot of Trains,
I Want To See The Parade, Shoeshine Man,
It Sure Can Get Cold In Des Moines,
Magnificent Music Machine, Strawberry Farms,
Nashville Is A Groovy Little Town,
One of The Mysteries of Life,
Pinto The Wonder Horse Is Dead,
Spokane Motel Blues, The Hitch-hiker,
That's How I Got To Memphis, Tulsa Telephone Book,
The Monkey That Became President,The Hitch-hiker
Who's Gonna Feed Them Hogs
