The Year That Clayton Delaney Died lyrics

I remember the year that Clayton Delaney died

They said for the last two weeks that he suffered and cried

It made a big impression on me, although I was

a barefoot kid

They said he got religion at the end and I'm glad that

he did

Clayton was the best guitar picker in our town

I thought he was a hero and I used to follow Clayton around

Clayton used to tell me, "Son you better put that old guitar away,

There ain't no money in it, it'll lead you to an

early grave."

Well, Daddy said he drank a lot, but I could never understand

I knew he used to pick up in Ohio with a

five-piece band

I often wondered why Clayton, who seemed so

good to me

Never took his guitar and made it down in

Tenn-o-see

I guess if I'd admit it, Clayton taught me how to drink

booze

I can see him half-stoned a-pickin' out the lovesick

blues

When Clayton died I made him a promise, I was gonna carry on somehow

I'd give a hundred dollars if he could only see me now

I remember the year that Clayton Delaney died

Nobody ever knew it but I went out in the woods and I cried

Well, I know there's a lotta big preachers that know a lot more than I do

But it could be that the good Lord likes

a little pickin' too

Yeah, I remember the year that Clayton Delaney died

• Artist:Tom T. Hall