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 b***h

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 profits 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