Ray Wylie Hubbard show front row seats and hear this song
When I was a young manAbout 21 years old y'allAll I wanted was a stripper girlfriendAnd a Gold Top Les PaulBe careful of the things you wish forYou might get 'emThere was a night club in DallasCalled Mother BluesIt's where Lightning Hopkins playedAnd Freddy King even payed some duesAll the dealers and gamblersAnd young white hipsters, they all made the sceneThe girl at the door who checked ID'sWas just 16Aw, it was not a place for law biding citizensJackie Jones he had 'em a habit, he just couldn't stopAaid give me 500 dollarsAnd I'll sell you my Les Paul God TopI drove my daddy's car down to Ross AvenueAnd I sold itI guess I should have told himHe eluded to the police someone stole it
It was just the first of many bad decisionsI was to make for the next 20 yearsOh, but I had me a guitarEverybody knowsThat the real nightlifeBegins after the clubs closeWhat they call after hoursIt's 2 a.m. and everybody's goneBut the band, the dealers and Jack JonesAnd then the girls from the landing strip club come overAfter they put their clothes back onSo I'm at Ma Blues and I'm sitting on an ampI'm playing "Twist and Shout"And this tall drink of water walks inLike she might have to shoot her way outShe come up to me and she said"You know anything good on that guitar?"I didn't say nothing, I just kept on playingShe said, "Have you ever heard this songCalled Polk Salad Annie?" I just kept playingShe said, "Every time I hear that songMy insides feel like warm butterAnd I just wanna take off my clothesAnd dance around in my underwear"
I said, "Down in LouisianaWhere the alligator grow so mean"That's all I knew of it and it was enoughSo we hit it off, me and this dancerWe hit it off like a metaphorLike a metaphor for a hydrogen bombWe was enriched uranium, super critical massWe was a chain reaction, it was love and lustAw, mostly lust but a mutual attractionSo there I was boys at 21 years old, I had it allI had a fine stripper girlfriend and a Gold Top Les PaulAw, the future, it looked promisingOh but there were dark clouds on the horizonShe was a beautiful girlBut she liked to drink Tequila and that ain't allI come home 4 or 5 timesAnd she pawned my Les PaulWe broke up and she went to HollywoodShe married an actorShe got a job dancing on the Hudson Brothers TV showAnd modern lipstick from Max FactorI got over her, I'm glad she done alrightI'm glad she done alright, oh yes, I am
Well now me, I never busted through the gatesInto the big time as a rock and roll starFor 40 years I just carried around an old Gold Top guitarBut love and fate are mysterious thingsIn this funky old worldIt was 20 years ago I ended up marryingThat Mother Blues door girlWe had us a boy, he's 18 years old now, he's playing guitarHe ended up with that Les Paul Gold Top, yes, he didNow I don't know if he's gonna hang his life on it or notBut I'm very grateful for the time I get to share the stage with himI'm grateful for the time I get to play with musiciansLike George Reiff and Rick RichardsI'm grateful that I get to write these old songsAnd travel around the world and play them for peopleAnd they come out and hear me playAnd the days that I keep my gratitudeHigher than my expectationsWell, I have really good days