THE LULLABIES MY MAMA SANG TO ME

The lonesome notes of the five string, banjo seemed to float in on the long shadows cast as the sun dipped behind the Hootey Knob.

A long hard day in the fields had ended and our neighbor was sharing with his friends a sense of accomplishment through the universal language of music. To me, the notes from that old banjo was like the town criers from the past with their acclamation that time is now and all is well with mankind!

My Mother would hold me in her arms and sing, "There is a place in New Orleans, they call the Rising Sun!" As the sounds of the music drifted down the valley you could hear others join in and before the last notes faded away they were in perfect harmony.

The banjo notes gave way to the katydids and peep frogs as my Mother continued her concert ranging from old time gospel to her favorite country songs. From Amazing Grace to Old Joe Clark, the songs were like lullabies on these warm summer evenings just before the old sandman came sauntering up the road!

I love to hear that old time country music,
At a place where my old Grandpa used to go!
A fiddle playing jamboree in Dixie
And a sweet voice singing sad songs, soft and low.
Songs with all the lyrics dipped in gospel
And those ballads with a hard time memory!
A song about a bad night down in Georgia,
Those were the lullabies my Mama sang to me!

I love to hear that old time country music,
Like the kind they play in Nashville, Tennessee.
A gospel singing bass man in the valley
And a soft voice singing tenor, tenderly.
Of a life time digging coal down in a coal mine,
The men who fought to keep our country free!
A stream of blinding teardrops begging pardon,
Those were the lullabies my Mama sang to me!

I love to hear that old time country music,
The kind that my old Grandpa went to hear!
The story of a barmaid’s broken love life,
And the salty taste of teardrops in your beer.
The sprinkling of some star dust on a romance,
And a love that was never meant to be.
The moonlight casting shadows on a love scene,
Those were the lullabies my Mama sang to me!