Een geschiedenislesje van de countryhippies van de Nitty Gritty Dirt Band. Heel wat klassieke namen komen voorbij in dit eerbetoon aan het live country-radioprogramma Grand Old Opry. Het programma wordt al sinds 1925 uitgezonden door radiostation WSM. Een uitnodiging om op te komen treden in “de Opry” betekent dat je het gemaakt hebt in Nashville. Vrijwel alle grote namen waren regelmatig te gast in het programma, maar de verhouding tussen de Opry en de sterren van het genre was niet altijd optimaal. Johnny Cash verkeerde geruime tijd op voet van oorlog met het country establishment in Nashville en de “outlaws” (Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings en Kris Kristofferson) waren lange tijd niet welkom in het programma.
Come and listen to my story if you will I’m gonna tell
About a gang of fellers from down at nashville
First I’ll start with old Red Foley doin’ the “chattanooga shoe”
We can’t forget Hank Williams with them good old “lovesick blues”
It’s time for Roy Acuff to go to Memphis on his train
With Minnie Pearl and Rod Brasfield and Lazy Jim Day
Turn on all your radios I know that you will wait
Hear Little Kimmy Dickens sing “take an old cold tater and wait”
There’ll be guitars and fiddles, Earl Scruggs and his banjo too
Bill Monroe singing ‘em the “honky tonky blues”
Ernest Tubb’s number “two wrongs won’t make a right”
At the Grand Ole Opry ev’ry saturday night
There was Uncle Dave Macon his gold tooth and plug-hat
Cowboy Copas singing “tragic romance”
Signed sealed and delivered with Sam and Kirk McGee
And the master of ceremony was Mr. George D. Hays
There was Lonzo and Oscar a-poppin’ bubble gum
George Morgan singin’ “candy kisses” yum yum
“got a hole in my bucket” “bringin’ in that georgia mill”
We’ll sing “the sunny side of the mountain” and dance to the “chicken reel”
There’ll be guitars and fiddles and banjo pickin’ too
Bill Monroe singin’ ‘em the “honky tonky blues”
Ernest Tubb’s number too wrongs won’t make a right
At the Grand Ole Opry ev’ry saturday night
You can talk about your singers in all kinds of way
But none could sing the old songs like Bradley Kincaid
With his old hound dog “guitar” and the famous “blue tail fly”
Stringbean with Hank Snow and old fiddlin’ Chubby Wise
There’ll be guitars and fiddles, Earl Scruggs and his banjo too
Bill Monroe singin’ ‘em the “honky tonky blues”
Ernest Tubb’s number “two wrongs don’t make a right”
At the Grand Ole Opry ev’ry saturday night
Uitgelichte afbeelding: Door Antony-22 – Eigen werk, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=126122977
