Old Time Music Is Here to Stay

Church bells soundin' dark clouds on the mountain
Dog in the pantry actin' strange
My old man's callin', each day a new problem
Only the worryin' don't change
Bolt on the back door and a rocker on the porch
Where I rock my cares away
Hearts fall, troubles rise, hopes dim and rain dries
Old time music's here to stay

Pluckin' on the 5-string keeps my hands from idling
And takes me back when I was young
When I'd see some hobo pickin' on his banjo
I'd plug my ears and run
That electrified guitar I bought in '84
Sits back in the closet these days
And to watch the years unreeling, the more I get the feeling
Old-time music's here to stay

Using your mind for what it weren't designed for
It's a good way to go insane
Me I've kept less than half of what I've pressed in
My poor unwilling brain
But when those old songs get down in your bones
You just let your fingers play
Livin' much makes you humble, everything built just crumbles
But old time music's here to stay

So, I bolt the back door and sit out on the porch
And listen to my fingers play
What kills joy and sorrow? A little thing called tomorrow
But old time music's here to stay

Hearts fall, troubles rise, hopes dim and rain dries
Old time music's here to stay