Bill's Laundromat, Bar And Grill

(album: When And Where - 1995)

Well, I was three days short of pulling out Kingsport
I was headed down to Houston town
Had my guitar packed in a burlap sack
For exploiting my country singing

I bypassed Jackson, bypassed Memphis
By the time I got to Arkansas
Id-a sold my car and this black guitar
For anything cool and tall

So I pulled up to a neon sign on highway forty-nine
Shut the engine down, took a look around
And then I stepped inside
I asked that bouncer where I was
He said, "Son, you're at Bills"

Honky tonk picking, line dance kicking
Razor back sticking, barbecue chicken
Laundromat bar and grill

Well, I saw old Bill sitting at the bar
With a pistol and change machine
He was doling out quarters to a waitress named Starr
When I asked him if I could sing

He said, "Son, go ahead if you brought your guitar"
Then he pointed to the back stage door
He said, "We don't like original material
Unless it's been done before"

Well, I hit the stage like a big mule train
Told the house band play in "c"
I played the Tennessee Waltz, Kentucky Rain
And the one about the bird that was free
That lead guitar was like a chain saw
That fiddle like a power drill at Bill's

Honky tonk picking, line dance kicking
Razor back sticking, barbecue chicken
Laundromat bar and grill

Well, in ten short minutes, I was up on stage
I watched a biker punch a cowboys face
With a perfect view I was witness to
The destruction of the whole damn place

It was long neck stems and white fringed hems
Flying out of that dark saloon
And that mechanical bull was reduced in full
To the safest place in the room

Well the punch-drunk cowboy showed his wife
That his shirt was soaked in beer
She said, "Calm down, honey, have another light
'Cause we can wash the shirt right here"
Then the whole place stopped to thank me
For booking my show at Bill's

Honky tonk picking, line dance kicking
Razor back sticking, barbecue chicken
Laundromat bar and grill

At Bill's, honky tonk picking, line dance kicking
Razor back sticking, barbecue chicken
Laundromat bar and grill