ROLLIN' AND RAMBLIN' (THE DEATH OF HANK WILLIAMS)
(Robin Williams / Linda Williams / Jerome Clarke)


Robin & Linda Williams - 1988
Emmylou Harris - 1990
Arranmore - 1994





Folks in Nashville slammed the door 
Said we don't want you anymore 
Find your own way down the road 
Pack your fiddle and your guitar 
Take a train or take a car 
Find someone else to keep you from the cold 

Rollin' and ramblin' 
Women loved him half to death 
He sang with whiskey on his breath 
His heart broke like a child's 
Rollin' and ramblin' 
The sun has set out on the trail 
The hobo's drifted up the rail 
He's taken his last ride 

Oh, he always sang the blues 
Like it was all he ever knew 
He didn't sing at all that night 
He was pale and as he dozed 
He didn't know his time had closed 
Slumped in the back seat to the right 

Rollin' and ramblin' 
Women loved him half to death 
He sang with whiskey on his breath 
His heart broke like a child's 
Rollin' and ramblin' 
The sun has set out on the trail 
The hobo's drifted up the rail 
He's taken his last ride 

So they sent him on a night train South 
Through the cities and the rural routes 
Just one more place to go 
Ah, the whistle sang the bluest note 
Like it came from his own throat 
Moanin' sad and cryin' low 

Rollin' and ramblin' 
Women loved him half to death 
He sang with whiskey on his breath 
His heart broke like a child's 
Rollin' and ramblin'
The sun has set out on the trail 
The hobo's drifted up the rail 
He's taken his last ride 

Rollin' and ramblin' 
The sun has set out on the trail 
The hobo's drifted up the rail 
He's taken his last ride 







(Transcribed by Mel Priddle - May 2012)