The Ballad Of Bill Crump

Lyrics

[Intro] Now, I hear a lot of tall stories, since my business is writing songs And every now and then, if you listen real close, a good true one comes along And this is the story of old Bill Crump from the North Carolina Hills Nat Winston of Nashville knew this man real well [Chorus] He built the church, he built the pews He built the cradles and the furniture for the schools Folks in Avery County say that he was better than good Probably one of the reasons the Lord made wood [Verse 1] Now, men have faults and Bill's fault was he loved to sip that corn He lived ninety-some years that way, don't guess it was hurting him none You could take him a picture from a catalog, he could build anything he'd see He could make anything that you could make out of a tree [Verse 2] One day, Bill said, "Mama, I'm gettin' old, I want you to measure me good I'm going out to that wood pile and get myself some wood And I'm gonna make me a coffin, I want it to fit me fine The way I figure it, I've got about enough time" [Chorus] He built the church, he built the pews He built the cradles and the furniture for the schools Folks in Avery County say that he was better than good Probably one of the reasons the Lord made wood [Verse 3] Now, Bill worked on that coffin like he was gonna be there awhile He'd show it to folks and rub that wood and then stand back and smile He used that body for ninety-some years, figured it had treated him good And when he left it, he put it away in some real fine wood [Verse 4] Well, right now, old Bill's sleeping in the hills of North Caroline In his homemade coffin, hand-rubbed walnut, velvet-lined Now, most folks use their heads and hands and just think of themselves His body's there, but his spirit is someplace else [Chorus] He built the church, he built the pews He built the cradles and the furniture for the schools Folks in Avery County say that he was better than good Probably one of the reasons the Lord made wood