Homecoming

It started in roanoke a little whiles ago
A friend knew a dance that you ought to know
They call it flat footin' and it sure looks fine
Right now it's flat footin' it time

And you'll be flat footin' it, flat gettin' it
You don't know just how good it is until you hear that guitar pickin' it, pick it

Just let your arms hang right where they are
Then you'll start flat footin' it ? to the bar
Turn yourself loose all the law will allow
And you're doing that flat footin' it now

You'll be flat footin' it, flat gettin' it
You don't know just how good it is until you hear that drummer pickin' it, pick it

It started in roanoke and came a long way
Now it's a flat footin' it usa
Good for your spirits and good for your health
You oughta try a little flat footin' yourself

And you'll be flat footin' it, flat gettin' it
You don't know just how good it is until you hear that bass fiddle pickin' it, pick it

Well, all of the students at the university
Shocked and amazed the existing faculty
Some dropped biology and some cut their math
To enroll in a flat footin' it class

Flat footin' it, flat gettin' it
You don't know just how good it is until you hear that band a' pickin' it, pick it

The carter boys were born one after another in a little old country place
I was the last and the death of my mother and i know it was a pretty bad trade
We'd get to drinking and i'd do the singing, they taught me to chase girls and cuss
We'd play poker, i'd do the dealing i was the only one we could trust

(chorus)
And there were six of us all together
And that's how we stood all the time
Six of us all together
The carter boys were brothers of mine

We had an old car that we kept tied together with pieces of baling wire and hope
They knew when we got there, they knew when we left, they could tell by the noise and the smoke
Anytime the sheriff had nothing to do he'd get out and chase us around
The old women prayed, the old men laughed and the middle-aged people all frowned

(chorus)

Daddy was a preacher and the lord knows he tried, gave us everything he could afford
We lost a lot of battles but daddy always said the only thing we feared was the lord
Well as i look back through the long lean years, i wonder how we ever survived
All that hard work, all of those women, and all those pistols and knives

(chorus x 2)

I guess i should've written, dad, to let you know that i was coming home
I've been gone so many years, i didn't realize you had a phone
I saw your cattle coming in, boy they're looking mighty fat and slick
I saw fred at the service station, told me that his wife is awful sick

You heard my record on the radio, oh, well it's just another song
But i've got a hit recorded and it'll be out on the market 'fore too long
I got this ring in mexico, no, it didn't cost me quite a bunch
When you're in the business that i'm in, the people call it puttin' up a front

I know i've lost a little weight, i guess i am looking kind of pale
If you didn't know me better, dad, you'd think that i'd just gotten out of jail
No, we don't ever call them beer joints, night clubs are the places that i work
You meet a lot of people there, but no, there ain't much chance of gettin' hurt

I'm sorry that i couldn't be there with you all when momma passed away
I was on the road and when they came and told me it was just too late
I drove by the grave to see her, boy, that really is a pretty stone
I'm glad that fred and jan are here, it's better than you being here alone

Well i knew you's gonna ask me who the lady is that's sleeping in the car
That's just a girl who works for me and, man, she plays a pretty mean guitar
We worked in san antone last night, she didn't even have the time to dress
She drove me down from nashville and to tell the truth i guess she needs the rest

Well, dad, i gotta go, we got a dance to work in cartersville tonight
Let me take your number down, i'll call you, and i promise you i'll write
Now you be good and don't be chasin' all those pretty women that you know
And by the way if you see barbara walker tell her that i said "hello."

One time i spent a week inside a little country jail
And i don't guess i'll ever live it down
I was sittin' at a red light when these two men came and got me
And said that i was speeding through their town

Well, they said,"tomorrow morning you can see the judge then go."
They let me call one person on the phone
I thought i'd be there overnight so i just called my boss
To tell him i'd be off but not for long

Well, they motioned me inside a cell with seven other guys
One little barred up window in the rear
My cellmates said if they had let me bring some money in
We ought to send the jailer for some beer

Well, i had to pay him double 'cause he was the man in charge
And the jailer's job was not the best in town
Later on his wife brought hot bologna, eggs and gravy
The first day i was there i turned it down

Well, next morning they just let us sleep but i was up real early
Wonderin' when i'd get my release
Later on we got more hot bologna, eggs and gravy
And by now i wasn't quite so hard to please

Two days later when i thought that i had been forgotten
The sheriff came in chewin' on a straw
He said, "where is the guy who thinks that this is indianapolis?
I'd like to talk to him about the law."
Well, i told him who i was and told him i was working steady
And i really should be gettin' on my way
That part about me bein' who i was did not impress him
He said, "the judge'll be here any day."

The jailer had a wife and let me tell you she was awful
But she brought that hot bologna every day
And after seven days she got to lookin' so much better
I asked her if she'd like to run away

The next mornin' that old judge took every nickel that i had
And he said, "son, let this teach you not to race."
The jailer's wife was smilin' from the window as i left
In thirty minutes i was out of state