George Potor plays acoustic guitar and sings
nashville
grand ole opry
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Story behind the song
First written in the 1980s and revised in 2014, this is a fictionalized account of a real-life attempt at Nashville country stardom.
Lyrics
California cousins can’t complain about the heat;
Their baby’s been a bummer and he’s stamping his feet.
We’ll never send him searchin’, ‘cause we know he might get killed
Or end up singing sermons with the Barber of Nashville.
Just paint your self a picture-portrait pleasin’ to the eye.
Then we’ll carry kindly kitty, keep her fit and feline fine
‘Til she’s hanging out the window with a seven dollar bill
For the friends and for the neighbors and the Barber of
Nashville. (Barber of Nashville)
“I’m serious” I told her, “I ain’t nuthin’ without you,
And I wouldn’t want you wastin’ time decidin’ who to choose,
‘Cause one’s just like the other, don’t forget to take your pill
Or you’ll find yourself in trouble by the Barber of Nashville”
So they climbed across a closet queen in carrot-colored hair,
Woke up Sunday morning to take stock of their affairs.
That Jack and Jill be tumbling, come a-runnin’ down the hill
Where they bumped into their cousins with the Barber of Nashville. (Barber of Nashville)
The Barber had the fever, his time had come to shine,
He showed us all his music-box; it was his own design.
On the floor he dropped his scissors, he said “I’ve had my fill
Of cuttin’ hair and actin’ like the Barber of Nashville.”
He’d said he’d come to Nashville just to be a country star
But he couldn’t play, he couldn’t sing; he wasn’t goin’ far.
Then he made the Grand Ole Opry, a janitor, but still,
“How’d you end up cuttin’ hair, Mister Barber of Nashville?” (Barber of Nashville)
“Well, I was out backstage with Johnny Cash, we shared a couple snorts.
I began to play my music-box when he said “Son, cut it short, leave it long in the back, full on the sides, and don’t mess up the part.”
“Right then I started cryin’, right then I lost my will;
‘Twas Johnny Cash who made me the Barber of Nashville.”