Song Description

A Johnny Cash style song.

Lyrics

ONE THING RIGHT

I was born in Macon County, a miner's son
A poor boy from the wrong side of town
My daddy worked hard to give his family a home
But life always beat him down
Folks said I would never amount to much
The seed don't fall far from the tree
Though I was proud of my daddy's name
I lived for the day I'd be free

'Cause I never did on thing right
I never did one thing right
In their eyes I was always
The losing kind
And I never did one thing right

I met her in the spring of my eighteenth year
(A girl) high and refined like polished steel
Her lips were soft and warm and she spoke of love
I should have known it wasn't real
We married in the fall against her family's will
This peasant and a cultured queen
I gave her my love but it wasn't enough
"Cause she was used to finer things

And I never did one thing right
I never did one thing right
In her eyes I was always
The losing kind
And I never did one thing right

We lived two winters in a run-down shack
While I tried my hand at many trades
But like my daddy before my pot of gold
Remained where the rainbow fades
She'd always talked of those city lights
So we moved from the hills of Tennessee
To a place where I hoped my luck would change
But that black cloud followed me

Chorus

As the summer died she grew bitter and cold
Her eyes were like hardened steel
She swore she had never love me at all
But to get away she'd taken the deal
Then to the arms of strangers she turned each night
Her conscience knew no shame
A woman far removed from the lady I'd known
And I was the one she blamed

Chorus

One night she confessed she'd found another man
Who promised greater riches than me
And fuled by a lifetime of ridicule
My love turned to jealousy
She didn't see me follow down that lonely road
The whistle of the midnight train
Covered the sound of my .45
No more will she complain

And I finally did one thing right
I finally did one thing right
In her eyes I was always
The losing kind
But I finally did one thing right

That big life insurance check
Helps to ease my mind
And I finally did one thing right
I finally did one thing right

Ac2008, Bruce A. Borders