Frizzell was born in Corsicana, Texas, but moved with his family shortly after his birth to El Dorado, Arkansas, where they remained until the early 1940s. Frizzell began playing the guitar as a very young boy and by age 12, he was appearing regularly on a children's show at a local radio station KELD.
The family moved back to Texas when Frizzell was still a teenager, and his music career got a boost when he won a talent contest in Dallas.
In his late teens, he was performing at fairgrounds and other venues, developing a unique, soulful voice. Like his father, he got work in the oilfields, but his growing popularity as a singer soon gave him regular work on the Honky Tonk nightclub circuit. At age 19, he had a half-hour show on a small Texas radio station, getting a big break when a record producer heard him sing. Signed to Columbia Records, he immediately had a string of hits that broke into country music's top ten; several of them reached # 1. In 1950 , he was invited to perform at the Grand Ole Opry; the following year he appeared on the prestigious Louisiana Hayride radio program that broadcast from Shreveport, Louisiana and then began touring with country music's biggest star of the era, Hank Williams. A prolific songwriter, Frizzell had four songs in the country top ten at the same time in 1951 — a feat that would not be repeated on any chart until The Beatles accomplished it on the pop charts, with five songs in 1964.
By the end of the 1950s, rock and roll was dominating the North American music scene, but although no one would ever mistake Frizzell's music for anything but country, his 1959 hit, " Long Black Veil," gained wide acceptance with a variety of music fans in addition to country, and was the first recording of this "standard." A few years later, Frizzell recorded " Saginaw, Michigan," which took the #1 spot on the country music charts and broke into the pop charts as well. The song earned him a Grammy Award nomination.
In the early 1970s, Frizzell changed record labels and moved to Bakersfield, California, where he recorded several more country music hits and became the first country singer to perform at the Hollywood Bowl. By then, however, his problems with alcoholism were already taking their toll. Mood swings and outbreaks of irrational anger became a trademark, and his constant failure to meet recording commitments strained his relationship with his recording company. In 1972, Lefty Frizzell was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame and his song "If You've Got the Money, I've Got the Time" earned him a Grammy Hall of Fame Award. Unfortunately, success and money only added to Frizzell's alcohol addiction, and on July 19, 1975, he suffered a massive stroke and died at age 47. He was buried on "Music Row" at Forest Lawn Memorial Gardens in Goodlettsville, Tennessee.
If You
Lefty Frizzell Lyrics
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We'll go honky tonkin' and we'll have a time
We'll make all the night spots, dance, drink beer and wine
If you've got the money, honey, I've got the time
There ain't no use to tarry so let's start out tonight
We'll spread joy, oh boy, oh boy, and we'll spread it right
We'll have more fun, baby, all the way down the line
If you've got the money, I've got the time
We'll go honky tonkin' and we'll have a time
Bring along your Cadillac, leave my old wreck behind
If you've got the money, honey, I've got the time
Yes, we'll go honky tonkin' make every club in town
We'll go to the park where it's dark, we won't fool around
But if you run short of money, I'll run short of time
'Cause you with no more money, honey, I've no more time
If you've got the money, I've got the time
We'll go honky tonkin' and we'll have a time
We'll make all the nightspots, dance, drink beer and wine
If you've got the money, honey, I've got the time
Lefty Frizzell's song "If You've Got The Money I've Got The Time" is a classic honky-tonk tune that speaks to the joys of living life to the fullest, especially if you have the necessary funds. The song encourages the listener to indulge in all the pleasures that money can buy, such as going to nightclubs, drinking beer and wine, and spreading joy wherever you go. The song suggests that the two can have a wonderful time together as long as the listener has enough money to keep up with the singer's wild lifestyle.
The song's first verse establishes the fun-loving, spontaneous nature of the singer, who confidently declares that he's ready to hit the honky-tonks as long as there's money to fuel the night. The chorus repeats the main message of the song, emphasizing that the singer's company can be bought with cash, and that the two will have plenty of fun together if the listener has the means to keep up. The second verse lists some of the specific activities the two can engage in, such as driving around in a Cadillac, visiting the park, and keeping things exciting all the way down the line. The final verse serves as a warning that the good times will only last as long as the money does, showing that the singer's loyalty is to the cash, not the person.
Line by Line Meaning
If you've got the money, I've got the time
I'm willing to spend time with you if you pay for our entertainment
We'll go honky tonkin' and we'll have a time
We'll visit various bars, have fun and enjoy ourselves
We'll make all the night spots, dance, drink beer and wine
We'll explore all the happening places where we can dance and drink
If you've got the money, honey, I've got the time
I'm ready to be with you if you're willing to pay
There ain't no use to tarry so let's start out tonight
No point in waiting, let's start right now
We'll spread joy, oh boy, oh boy, and we'll spread it right
We'll have a lot of fun and make others happy too
We'll have more fun, baby, all the way down the line
We'll have a blast from start to finish
If you've got the money, honey, I've got the time
I'm available for you if you can afford it
Bring along your Cadillac, leave my old wreck behind
Bring your luxury car, we don't need my old one
Yes, we'll go honky tonkin' make every club in town
We'll explore every club around
We'll go to the park where it's dark, we won't fool around
We'll go to secluded areas where we can be alone, but not for mischief
But if you run short of money, I'll run short of time
I can only be with you until you can pay, then we'll have to end
'Cause you with no more money, honey, I've no more time
If you're broke, then we have to end our time together
Lyrics © Peermusic Publishing
Written by: JAMES A. BECK, LEFTY FRIZZELL
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
RoyR
“dance, drink beer and wine“, was censored out and replaced with either “dance to the music fine” or “do the town up fine”, etc. Early TV was very strict.