Homecoming
Tom T Hall Lyrics

I guess I should've written, dad
I regret not informing you that I was coming home.

To let you know that I was coming home
To inform you of my return home.

I've been gone so many years
I've been away from home for so long.

I didn't realize you had a phone
I wasn't aware that you had a telephone.

I saw your cattle coming in,
I noticed your cattle returning home.

Boy they're looking mighty fat and slick
They look healthy and well-fed.

I saw fred at the service station
I saw Fred at the gas station.

Told me that his wife is awful sick
He informed me that his wife is seriously ill.

You heard my record on the radio
You listened to my song on the radio.

Oh, well it's just another song
It's simply one of my songs.

But I've got a hit recorded
I have a successful song recorded.

And it'll be out on the market 'fore too long
It will be available for purchase soon.

I got this ring in mexico
I acquired this ring in Mexico.

No, it didn't cost me quite a bunch
It didn't cost me a lot of money.

When you're in the business that I'm in
In my line of work,

The people call it puttin' up a front
People refer to it as pretending or showing off.

I know I've lost a little weight
I've lost some weight.

I guess I am looking kind of pale
I appear slightly pale.

If you didn't know me better, dad
If you didn't know me well,

You'd think that I'd just gotten out of jail
You might assume that I was recently released from prison.

No, we don't ever call them beer joints
We never refer to them as beer joints.

Night clubs are the places that I work
I work at nightclubs.

You meet a lot of people there, but no,
I meet many people there, however,

There ain't much chance of gettin' hurt
The likelihood of being injured is slim.

I'm sorry that I couldn't be there with you all when momma passed away
I regret not being able to be with you when mom passed away.

I was on the road and when they came and told me it was just too late
I was traveling, and when I learned of her passing, it was too late to return home.

I drove by the grave to see her, boy,
I visited her grave.

That really is a pretty stone
Her gravestone is attractive.

I'm glad that fred and jan are here,
I'm pleased that Fred and Jan are present.

It's better than you being here alone
It's an improvement from you being here by yourself.

Well I knew you's gonna ask me
I was anticipating you to ask me.

Who the lady is that's sleeping in the car
The woman sleeping in the car is my employee.

That's just a girl who works for me
She's an employee of mine.

And, man, she plays a pretty mean guitar
She's a talented guitar player.

We worked in San Antone last night,
We performed in San Antonio last night,

She didn't even have the time to dress
She didn't have enough time to change.

She drove me down from nashville and
She drove me from Nashville,

To tell the truth I guess she needs the rest
To be true, I think she needs some rest.

Well, dad, I gotta go,
Well, Dad, I need to leave soon.

We got a dance to work in cartersville tonight
I have a performance to do in Cartersville this evening.

Let me take your number down,
May I write down your number?

I'll call you, and I promise you I'll write
I will call you and write to you as well.

Now you be good and don't be chasin'
Be well-behaved and don't pursue

All those pretty women that you know
All the attractive women you may know.

And by the way if you see barbara walker
If you happen to see Barbara Walker,

Tell her that I said "hello."
Please relay my greetings to her.