Where you tip your hats to the ladies and the rose of San Antone
I grew up on music that we called western swing
It don't matter who's in Austin, Bob Wills is still the king
Lord, I can still remember,the way things were back then
In spite of all the hard times, I'd live it all again
To hear the Texas playboys and Tommy Duncan sing
Makes me proud to be from Texas where Bob Wills is still the king
You can hear the Grand Ol' Opry in Nashville, Tennessee
It's the home of country music, on that we all agree
But when you cross that ol' Red River hoss that just don't mean a thing
'Cause once you're down in Texas, Bob Wills is still the king
Well if you ain't never been there then I guess you ain't been told
That you just can't live in Texas unless you got a lot of soul
It's the home of Willie Nelson, the home of western swing
He'll be the first to tell you, Bob Wills is still the king
Nice.
Seven years ago this month my Dad had a tumor removed from his skull in a 14 hour operation. Bob Wills music was a big part of his recovery.
Bob Wills. Bob Wills. The name rings a bell...
Oh yes! He owned Wills Point here in Sacramento, California, where he came to get out of, now where was he from orginally? Oklahoma? No. That's not it.
"Waltz across Texas with you in my arms,
Waltz across Texas with you.
Like a storybook ending, I'm lost in your charms
And I could waltz across Texas with you."
But not Erik.
Tonight in a bar alone I'm sitting
Far from the laughter and the cheer
While dreams of the past rise before me
Just watching the bubbles in my beer
A vision of someone who loved me
Brings a lone, silent tear to my eye
And I know that my life's been a failure
As empty as the bubbles in my beer
Gregg, my dad introduced me to Bob Wills too. He died of a brain tumor almost thirteen years ago. I'd give anything to hear San Antonio Rose with him one more time. My best to your dad; it sounds like they had some things in common.
Thanks for posting that, and it's touching to read how Bob Wills music spans the generations. I'm a third-generation fan. When the Texas Playboys were based at Cain's Ballroom in Tulsa (1934-1942), they'd play little dance halls all over this part of the country, and my grandfather, who was in the Civilian Conservation Corps in Nowata, Oklahoma, would go to the dances. His son (my dad) sang "Roly Poly" to me when I was little. I discovered the music for myself when I was in college. (My interest was somewhat encouraged by the fact that a really cute girl from San Antonio wanted to teach me how to two-step.) And my wife once played fiddle in a band with Eldon Shamblin, who was the band manager, arranger, and rhythm guitarist for the Texas Playboys for many years.
Wills did own Wills Point in Sacramento, after he'd already been working in California for many years. It was one of several attempts to recreate the kind of home base he had here in Tulsa before the war. (His little brother Billy Jack and mandolinist Tiny Moore took the place over when Bob moved back to Texas. There are a couple of CDs out, taken from transcriptions of Billy Jack Wills' Western Swing Band, broadcasting over KFBK.)
I've posted lyrics to a few Bob Wills songs on my blog, not well-known but favorites of mine:
I Laugh When I Think How I Cried over You
Don't Be Ashamed of Your Age
Bottle Baby Boogie