Story Behind The Song

My Dad, Flip, gave me this old '48 Gibson, the guitar which he had for nearly 60 years (bought it new as an 18 year old newlywed). Man, was my mother pissed. As you can tell from the song, she softened her stance as the years went by.

Song Description

An old man is passing his first good guitar on to his son.

Lyrics

She Was There


He handed me, his old guitar. And he said, "this one's for you".
"She was the first one that I ever loved, I found her back in `42."

Took that whole year,just to pay her off, Seven dollars every month.
Your mother said, she nearly broke the bank, But let me tell you this much, son :

She was there, Through all our happy times, Her sweet sounds rang out thru the night
She was there, When things weren't going right. She brought us comfort with her song
You know she's always been such a good friend of mine , I hope that you'll keep her in tune

There were times , when he played, it was the strangest thing, we'd all sit around and stare
How could this thing, made of wood and steel, leave magic floating in the air
I never knew, till he handed her to me, That the magic was within
It was in his hands and in his heart, It wasn't really in the strings


I can recall when his friends came by, They'd all sit around and play.
And I remember, thinkin' to myself, I hope I'll be that good someday.
But as I sit here, with his old guitar, his fimgers flyin' through my head

He is here, to help me through these harder times, those sweet sounds ring out thru the night
Telling me that if I play her right. The magic's just around the bend

And then sometimes on a Saturday night, I sit out on the porch and sing.
All the songs I loved back in my younger days, And I try to keep her right in tune.

He handed me, his old guitar. And he said, `this one's for you".
She was the first one that I ever loved, I found her back in `42.