Hank Williams: The Show He Never Gave (1980) - full transcript
On the final night of his life, Dec. 31, 1952, country music legend Hank Williams imagines himself giving a New Year's Eve performance in a small bar, with his comments to the audience reflecting upon his life.
[music playing]
MUSIC - HANK WILLIAMS,
"SETTIN' THE WOODS ON FIRE"
HANK WILLIAMS: [SINGING]
Comb your hair, and paint
and, powder.
You act proud, and
I'll act prouder.
You sing loud and
I'll sing louder,
tonight we're settin'
the woods on fire.
You're my gal and I'm
your fella, dressed
up in your frock of yeller.
I look swell, but
you look sweller
setting the woods on fire.
We'll take in all
the honky tonks,
tonight we're having fun.
We'll show the folks a brand new
dance that never has been done.
I don't care who
thinks we're silly.
You be daffy.
I'll be dilly.
We'll order up two
bowls of chili,
setting the woods on fire.
I'll gas up my hot rod stoker.
We'll get hotter than a poker.
You'll be broke,
but I'll be broker.
Tonight we're setting
the woods on fire.
We'll sit close to one
another, up one street
and down the other.
Will we have a time, oh brother,
setting the woods on fire.
We'll put aside a little
time to fix a flat or two.
My trey and tube are doing fine
but the air is showing through.
I used to get a real
kick out of hearing
my own songs on the radio.
God, I'm feeling foolish.
I just can't stand to
be cooped up like this.
DJ [ON RADIO]: Yes, sir, folks.
That was Hank Williams,
the king of country music
with another number one hit.
King of country music.
Wish I didn't have to play in
a big arena in Ohio tomorrow
night.
Tonight's the night I should
be up on some stage somwheres.
Yeah, some nice little
place like one of them
bars we're driving
right on past.
Lately, I've been going up on
them stages and pretending.
But tonight, you know,
I could say it right.
The boys can be there and
somebody'd have a fiddle.
A good old Saturday night band.
We could have the best
damn New Year's Eve
party anybody ever saw, yeah.
[chatter]
[music playing]
Well, thank you very much.
[chatter]
So I turned to him and
I said, well, Jackson,
if'n that's the way
you feel about it,
you can just have
your ring back.
And I tell you, he
sure was shocked.
[laughter]
[chatter]
[applause]
Right along about now,
I guess the boys will
be warming up the crowd
with "Why Don't You
Love Me Like You Used To Do?"
[SINGING] Well, why don't you
love me, like you used to do?
Why do you treat me
like a worn out shoe?
My hair's still curly and
my eyee are still blue.
So why don't you love
me like you used to do?
[music playing]
Ah, Eric.
Happy New Year!
Woo!
My ma had 13 kids.
And only eight of us survived.
Hey.
[car honks]
Hey, he's here.
I just saw him--
Hank Williams.
I really did.
Where?
Oh, there he is.
I see him.
[crowd cheering]
Touch me, Hank.
Touch me.
Sign it with all my love.
Oh-oh-oh!
So handsome and sweet.
Hank!
Hank!
[shrieks]
Hank!
Excuse me.
Isn't he cute?
Sorry, right this way,
please, Mr. Williams.
Thank you, ma'am.
It's like a centipede.
Thanks for helpin' me.
He's a lot taller
than I thought he'd be.
Why, I've never seen
anyone in person before.
Looks pretty ordinary to me.
Ladies and gentlemen,
right now we're
proud to introduce
you to the finest
country gentleman of all time.
Star of radio, recordings,
and personal appearances,
and the writer and singer of
such great songs "Your Cheating
Heart," "Hey, Good Looking,"
"So Lonesome I Could Die,"
and many others.
We're joined now by Alabama,
ladies and gentlemen.
[inaudible] himself!
[cheering]
Well, this is a mighty
fine hall y'all got here.
Yes, sir.
Well, for them that don't
know, my name is Hank Williams
and I'm here to--
[cheering]
And I'm here tonight to
sing some songs for you.
So y'all just settle back there.
We're gonna have
ourselves a good time.
Happy New Year's, everybody.
Happy New Year's.
Thank you, Hank.
Happy New Year!
Well, you only got
about an hour left.
But you know, I,
for one, won't be
too sad to see 1952 go on by.
I can see a whole
lot of changes coming
down the road for nineteen
hundred and fifty-three.
Well, we're going to
have a new administration
up there in Washington.
Inauguration day for old
Ike and Richard Nixon
coming up any time
now, that's right.
And maybe this year, our
boys are finally going
to win that war over in Korea.
Be nice to get that
mess all cleaned up
and have our boys back
here with their loved ones.
Wouldn't that be nice?
Well, maybe this
year the Dodgers
are finally going to
beat them damn New York
Yankees in the World Series.
[cheering]
Of course, looking
into New Year's can
be scary sometimes, too.
I don't know what it is.
You know, sometimes you
just kind of get a feeling
that, well, there's
something coming
down-- something coming
down the road at me
or something like that.
I just don't know.
I don't know what it is.
Come on, boy, play
us some music.
That's what people want to hear.
I mean, that's what they
paid their money for.
MUSIC - HANK WILLIAMS,
"HONKY TONKIN'"
One, two, three.
[SINGING] When you
are sad and lonely
and you got no place to
go, come along sweet momma
and bring along some dough.
And we'll go honky tonkin',
honky tonkin' honky
tonkin', honey babe.
We go honky tonkin'
'round this town.
Ah, he's all right.
Yeah, he's good.
Now, if you and your sweet
baby have a falling out.
Come and see me momma and
we'll go stepping out.
And we'll go honky
tonkin', honky tonkin'.
Honky tonkin' honey babe, we go
honky tonkin' around this town.
On to you now.
[cheering]
I'm going to the city,
to the city fair.
If you go to the city, then
you will find me there.
And we go honky tonkin',
honky tonkin', honky
tonkin', honey babe.
We go honky tonkin'
'round this town.
Take it away again.
And we going honky tonkin',
honky tonkin', honky
tonkin', honey baby.
We going honky tonkin'
around this town.
[cheers and applause]
Come on, let's
keep things moving.
MUSIC - HANK WILLIAMS,
"LONESOME BLUES"
I got a feeling
called the blues,
oh, Lord, since my
baby said goodbye.
Lord, I don't know
what I'll do, all I do
is sit and sigh, oh Lord.
That last long day she
said goodbye Well Lord
I thought I would cry.
She'll do me, she'll do you.
She's got that kind of loving.
Lord I love to hear her when
she call me sweet daddy.
Such a beautiful dream, I
hate to think it all over.
I've lost my heart it seems.
I've grown so used
to you somehow,
we'll I'm nobody's sugar
daddy now and I'm lonesome.
I got the lovesick blues.
Well, I'm in love, I'm in
love with a beautiful gal.
That's what's the
matter with me.
Yes, I'm in love, I'm in
love with a beautiful gal
but she don't care about me.
Lord, I tried and I tried
to keep her satisfied
but she just wouldn't stay.
So now that she is leaving
This is all that I can say.
I got a feeling called
the blues oh Lord
since my baby said goodbye.
Oh Lord, I don't
know what to do,
all I do is sit
and sigh, oh Lord.
Last long day she said goodbye,
Lord I thought I would cry.
She'll do me.
She'll do you.
She's got that kind of loving.
Lord I love to hear it when
she calls me sweet daddy.
Such a beautiful dream, I
hate to think it all over.
I've lost my heart it seems.
And I've grown so
used to you somehow.
Well, I'm nobody's sugar
daddy now and I'm lonesome.
I got the lovesick blues.
[cheering]
Thank you so much.
You know, some would say
that ain't much of a song,
but I mean he's done
all right by me so far.
It's made me $34,000.
I remember one time this
fella come up to me.
You know what he said?
Hank, he said, I sure am
getting tired of hearing
you singing that stupid song.
Why don't you learn a new one?
Well, buddy, I said, that
song's done pretty good by me.
You tell me what song's
ever made you $34,000.
I'll sing that one.
[laughter]
[cheers and applause]
Yeah, I remember the
first time I ever played
up there at the Grand Ole Opry.
Must of been two
or three years ago.
'49, wasn't it? '49.
Yup, '49.
Well, sir, I must have gotten
half dozen encores, you know.
They just wouldn't let
me get off that stage.
[cheers and applause]
I can't rightly
seem to get the hang
of this here guitar tonight.
I don't know what it is.
Seems like someone
went and switched
the strings around on me.
Must have been when
I was out having
me a little glass of milk.
Of course, I don't play
too good the best of times.
I play the way I play is all.
I remember the first
time I ever heard
Teddy here play the guitar.
I like the way he played.
So I asked him if he
wanted to join my band.
He said, oh I could
never play with you
Mr. Williams because the
only chords I know was
is C, G, and B. I said
Teddy that's all there is.
[laughter]
[cheers and applause]
Now, I learned guitar myself.
And I was no more
than 9 or 10 years old
by an old negro street
singer named Rufus Payne.
Tee Tot everybody called him.
A funny name, that.
Tee Tot.
But that's what they called him.
And old Tee Tot, he
learned me everything I
ever knew about guitar playing.
Of course, he's dead now.
He left us many years ago.
But you can't live in
the past all the time.
So come on, boys, let's play
some more tunes for these folks
here.
I'm sure they'd enjoy it.
Wouldn't you?
Huh?
MAN: Mind you own business.
[cheering]
Jambalaya!
[crowd gasps]
[cheers and applause]
I'm so embarrassed.
[stammers]
Well, honey, you
win a Kewpie doll.
Now-- now, what song
y'all want to hear?
"Kaw-Liga."
"Kaw-Liga?"
You heard the lady.
Never turn a lady down.
MUSIC - HANK
WILLIAMS, "KAW LIGA"
Kaw-Liga was a wooden
Indian standing by the door.
He fell in love
with a Indian maiden
over in the antique store.
Kaw-Liga just stood there
and never let it show.
So she could answer yes or no.
He always wore his Sunday
feathers and held a tomahawk.
The maiden wore her beads
and braids and hoped someday
he'd talk.
Kaw-Liga too stubborn
to ever show a sign,
because his heart was
made of knotty pine.
Oh poor old Kaw-Liga,
he never got a kiss.
Poor old Kaw-Liga, he
didn't know what he missed.
Is it any wonder
that his face is red?
Kaw-Liga, that poor
old wooden head.
Kaw-Liga was a lonely
Indian, never went no where.
His heart was set on the Indian
maid with the coal black hair.
Kaw-Liga just stood there
and never let it show,
so she could never
answer yes or no.
And then one day
a wealthy customer
bought that Indian maid,
and took her oh so far away
but old Kaw-Liga stayed.
Kaw-Liga just stands
there lonely as can be
and wishes he was
still an old pine tree.
Oh, poor old Kaw-Liga,
he never got a kiss.
Oh poor old Kaw-Liga, he
don't know what he missed.
Is it any wonder
that his face is red?
Kaw-Liga, that poor
old wooden head.
[cheers and applause]
MAN: Excuse me.
Outta my way.
Excuse me.
Hey.
- Oh, no, thanks.
No, I'm all right.
Have one on me.
Thanks, I never
touch the stuff.
Oh, come on.
Wet your whistle.
Well, thank you, buddy.
Thank you.
Right.
It sure does look
good, but, you know,
lately I've been trying to
cut down on my drinking.
And you know what?
I've been doing
real good lately.
Good for you, Hank.
Yeah.
At least, when
I've been trying.
It's funny what drinking
will do to a man.
I don't know if any of you out
there ever had one too many
ever once in a while?
Not me!
[laughter]
Well, I'll tell
you, it kind of
messes up your sense of time.
I remember one time Fred Rose--
you know, that's the
fella who publishes
my songs up there in Nashville.
He called me on the telephone.
He said, Hank.
He said, we figure it's time
for you to cut a new record.
I said, Fred, what's wrong
with the one I done last week?
Well, he kind of
hemmed and hawed.
And he said, Hank, the
last record you made
was four months ago.
Now, since that time, your
version sold half a million.
But Tony Bennett's version
has sold 2 million.
Well, I finally got the time
sequence straight my head
but there was one little thing
I could never figure out.
Just who the hell
is Tony Bennett?
[laughter]
Oh, he's just playing with us.
[laughs]
[applause]
You know, times have
changed and I'm really
trying to cut down
on my drinking
because, you know, all my
buddies up there in Nashville--
my good friends-- they got
big plans for me when I went
to get off of this road tour.
Yes sir, big plans, just so long
as I can cut down on the booze.
Big plans.
Them Opry folks never should
have fired me like that.
Now, what'd they say
that date was again?
Well, one of these days when
I walk on out that Opry stage,
one of these days.
Man, it sure is fine.
[applause]
[VOICEOVER] Howdy,
folks, mighty glad to be
back here at the Opry.
Thanks be to God
and, of course, radio
station WSM and
The National Life
and Accident Insurance Company.
Well, sir, I see the Opry
ain't changed a whole lot
since I've been away.
I look over here
and a ways there
and there's Earnest Tubb
waiting come on out.
Well, and there's Roy
Acuff, and Hank Snow,
and Cousin Minnie Pearl.
MINNIE PEARL
[VOICEOVER]: Howdy, Hank.
Howdy, Minnie.
Sure is fine to be back up here.
Now, if you ways to ask me
why I'd been away so long,
this is what I'd tell you.
[MUSIC - HANK
WILLIAMS, "TOO MANY
PARTIES AND TOO MANY PALS"]
Too many parties
and too many pals
will break your heart some day.
Too many evenings
spent out on the town
will drive good fortune away.
Gentlemen of the jury,
the judge's speech began.
The scene was a crowded
courtroom and the judge
was a stern old man.
Now, this prisoner
here before you.
Why he's a social enemy,
an outcast and a drunkard.
And you know the penalty.
His face reflects the nightlife.
His eyes are sunk
with pain, but you
know your brother, gentlemen,
is a very respected man.
Now, in someways
he's not like him,
and yet he might have been.
If it hadn't a been
for his drinking
buddies, fast women, and gin.
See, we took the
nightlife off the streets,
brought it into our own
dens with the smiles
of faceless women and the men
who called themselves friends.
We opened up the underworld
to the ones we love so well.
So tell me gentlemen,
is it right
that we send him to a cell?
If he drink, why you taught him.
And he errs, you showed him how.
So I ask you, is it right
to go and condemn a man?
And before you reach your
verdict on what this man has
done, be sure you didn't
lead him down the road
where he stands all alone.
Now gentlemen, that's my story.
My testimony stands.
This man is my own brother
and the case is in your hands.
Those empty friendship
and frivolous hours
and too many parties
and too many pals.
[cheers and applause]
Can you play this for me?
Well, I sure will.
Thank you.
Say, anybody out
there baseball fans?
[cheering]
Oh, boy.
You know, that's
something that I really
like to do is listen to
them ballgames on the radio,
especially when we're driving
along from town to town.
I never drive myself.
I always have some other
fella to do the driving.
And I don't much care what
ballgame it is, really.
I got no hometown team.
I mean, when you're on the
road all the time like I am,
it gets so you
can't even remember
if you've got a hometown.
But I guess it's all
us drifters, you know,
all the people who got no
team of their own, always
end up rooting for them
Brooklyn Dodgers, the Bums.
[applause]
Hoo-ee.
You know, the way my
life's been going,
sometimes I feel just like
them Brooklyn Dodgers.
Well, you remember two
years ago back in '50
when they lost the
pennant in the last inning
of the last game of the season.
Cost me 50 bucks.
[laughs]
HANK WILLIAMS: And last
year was the same thing.
They're ahead 4-1.
They're going into the
ninth and they lose it 5-4.
Now, this year, they
did better, way better.
They didn't lose 'til the
last game of the World Series.
Well, maybe next year.
Now, this next song is
called "You Win Again."
Thought I forgot your
request, didn't you, honey?
Well, I didn't write it for
the Bums, but I think tonight,
I'm going to
dedicate it to them.
To the Bums and all the bums.
All them folks always
seem to end up losing
right in the last inning.
Take it away.
MUSIC - HANK WILLIAMS,
"YOU WIN AGAIN"
The news is out all
over town that you've
been seen a-runnin' round.
Oh, I know that I
should leave, but then
I just can't go you win again.
That is such a beautiful song.
It's about my most
favorite, I think.
Don't you just think it's
just wonderful, Jackie?
I don't know.
I kind of like
[inaudible] better.
Uh, so cute.
HANK WILLIAMS: --but me.
Just trusting you.
Well, babe all I got left in
this world is the wife and you.
You know, sometimes I
wished I only had you.
And you're so pretty.
Sound so sweet.
And never talk mean to me.
And I'm sorry for your victim
now for soon his head like mine
will bow.
He'll give his heart but
all in vain and someday
say you win again.
'Cause you have no heart.
You have no shame.
You take true love
and give the blame.
Oh, I guess that I
should not complain.
Oh, I love you still.
You win again.
[cheers and applause]
Yes, sir.
That's-- that "You Win
Again," that's about as true
as I can write it, you know?
I always write my songs
about what's happened to me.
See, when I say, I got
the blues-- hoo-wee.
[laughter]
You better believe it, boy.
I mean, I could get the blues
better than any man alive.
[laughter]
I mean, if your woman
ain't left you alone
and you wishing that she would--
well, like my new wife--
name of Billie Jean.
God.
Why, I loved her so much
I married her three times.
[laughter]
Well, two times on
the stage at the New
Orleans Municipal Auditorium.
But now that we're all hitched
up real good and proper, why,
she can be mean and
ornery sometimes, though.
She calls it taking care of me.
[crowd murmurs]
For instance, she's always
smashing my bottles.
I mean, how's a man to live
without he's got a bottle
or two around the house?
[crowd murmurs in agreement]
The other night I
come home, I seen
her pouring a bottle of my best
Jim Beam right down the toilet.
[crowd groans]
I only kept it around
for my back pain anyways.
[laughter]
She even found a
bottle I had hid
in my old pair of cowboy boots.
And the one I had taped
inside of my guitar?
[laughter]
And a little bitty one
I had hid in the radio
there, in there with the
tubes and the wires and such?
All on account that she
couldn't get Wheeling,
West Virginia WWVA real good.
[laughter]
So she had to go
look inside of it.
Just plain mean and ornery.
But I believe everybody gets
what they deserve in this life.
And sometimes it
don't look like that,
but things ain't
always like they seem.
Now, Billie Jean,
she's my second one.
You take my first wife, Audrey--
boy, you people are
lucky you never met her.
[laughter]
Why, I loved her better than
any man ought to love any woman.
Now, she's got my house, my
money, my kid, and my heart.
Ask me if I still love
my used-to-be wife,
I'll lie and say no.
[playing guitar]
Today I passed
you on the street.
[cheers and applause]
And my heart fell at your feet.
I can't help it if I'm
still in love with you.
Somebody else was by your side.
And he looked so satisfied.
I can't help it if I'm
still in love with you.
A picture from the
past came slowly
stealing as I brushed your arm
and walked so close to you.
And suddenly, I got
that old time feeling.
I can't help it if I'm
still in love with you.
It's hard to know another's
lips will kiss you.
And he'll hold you
the way I used to do.
Oh, heaven only knows
how much I miss you.
I can't help it if I'm
still in love with you.
[cheers and applause]
Well, thank you.
Thank you very much.
You know, you'd think that
woman's got everything, right?
She made me miserable and
still ended up with everything.
But I figure I'm
still gonna win out
in the long run, because you
see, in 100 years from now,
if people still listen to
my records, god willing--
why, they're gonna
to know everything
there is to know about
that woman and me,
because I wrote it all
down right from the start.
I guess when you look at all
them songs in order, you know,
it's kind of like,
well, a play that
y'all might read in a book.
Well, here, I'll
play-act it for you now.
Now, Act One, that's
when you're still hoping.
Well, you know how it is.
You see a pretty little gal
walking down the street,
and only thing you can say
is something like this.
Say, hey, good-lookin'.
Say, what you got cooking?
How's about cooking
something up with me?
Say, hey, sweet baby.
Say, don't you
think maybe we could
find us a brand new recipe?
I got a hot rod
Ford and a $2 bill.
And I know a spot
right over the hill.
They got soda pop and
the dancing's free.
So if you wanna have
fun, come along with me.
I say, hey, good looking.
Say, what you got cooking?
How's about cooking
something up with me?
And then things start
to look like they're
really gonna work out.
Well, I met my
future bride today.
And her name is Kathy Mae.
Rootie Tootie.
Rootie Tootie.
HANK WILLIAMS:
Oh, Rootie Tootie.
Rootie Tootie.
Yeah, Rootie Tootie,
she's my Sunday gal.
Well, she's got
purty eyes of blue.
And she thinks I'm purty too.
Wicky-wacky.
Rootie Tootie.
Oh, Rootie Tootie.
Rootie Tootie.
Yeah, Rootie Tootie,
she's my Monday gal.
Well, you should see the
people stare when she
walks all across the square.
Bouncy-bouncy.
Rootie Tootie.
Oh, whoopsie-daisy.
Rootie Tootie.
Yeah, Rootie Tootie,
she's my Tuesday gal.
[cheers and applause]
Thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Then comes Act Two, and
that's when you start
to see the way it really is.
If you loved me half
as much as I love you,
oh, you wouldn't worry me
half as much as you do.
You're nice to me when
there's no one else around.
You always build me
up to let me down.
If you missed me half
as much as I missed you,
oh, you wouldn't stay away
half as much as you do.
I know that I would never be
this blue if you only loved
me half as much as I love you.
And then finally, you see that
woman for what she really is.
Your cheating heart--
[crowd erupting in cheers]
--will make you weep.
You'll cry and cry
and try to sleep.
But sleep won't come
the whole night through.
Your cheating heart
will tell on you.
When tears come down
like falling rain,
you'll toss around
and call my name.
You'll walk the
floor the way I do.
Your cheating heart
will tell on you.
[cheers and applause]
Thank you.
He must know my wife.
[cheers and applause]
Then comes Act Three.
And that's when
there ain't no more.
And well, you just keep hoping
that the curtain's gonna fall.
You know, it's funny, but
that's the kind of song
that you can't lose.
I mean, the ones
that stay with you--
the songs that you write
when you're all alone again.
[playing guitar]
We met in the springtime
when blossoms unfold.
The pastures were green
and the meadows were gold.
Our love was in flower
as summer grew on.
Her love, like the leaves,
now has withered and gone.
The roses have faded.
There's frost at my door.
The birds in the morning
don't sing anymore.
The grass in the valley
has started to die.
And out in the darkness,
the whippoorwill cries.
Alone and forsaken
by fate and by man--
oh, Lord, if you hear me,
please hold to my hand.
Oh, please understand.
Where has she gone to?
Where can she be?
She may have forsaken
some other like me.
She promised to honor,
to love, and obey.
Each vow was a plaything
that she threw away.
The darkness has fallen.
The sky has turned grey.
A hound in the distance
has started to bay.
I wonder, I wonder
what she's thinking of.
Forsaken, forgotten,
without any love.
Alone and forsaken
by fate and by man--
oh, Lord, if you hear me,
please hold to my hand.
Oh, please understand.
It's funny how it
always seems to turn out
the same way every single time.
[cheers and applause]
Carl, don't you remember me?
Oh, yeah, of course
I remember you.
Catch you later.
Some dressing room they
got for us here, huh?
Just like home.
MAN: Good-lookin' women out
there tonight, though, boy.
Did you see that pretty
little gal sitting up front?
Phew!
Well, boys, before
we go any further,
I just want to tell you
that the waitress is mine.
But I brought you
a little something
from my private collection as
a sort of consolation prize.
MAN: Mighty fine, mighty
fine, have a look at that.
MAN: My, my, my.
MAN: Helluva crowd.
Oh, god, I'm bushed.
Feels good to get these
boots off, I tell you.
Feeling all right, Hank?
Not too bad.
Only thing I regret
is not killing
that fool horse I fell off.
MAN: Hey, Teddy, that was some
fine picking tonight, boy.
Mighty fine.
MAN: I thank you, sir.
MAN: Of course, now, it might
make it just a little better
if you'd just turn on your amp.
[laughter]
MAN: And by way, what string
you got broken there, boy?
Is that the C, G, or D?
[laughter]
You guys never
gonna let that one go.
I know.
MAN: Let me have a look
at that guitar a minute.
[woman singing in distance]
[laughter]
Hi.
Um, you all right?
Can I get you
anything, Mr. Williams?
No.
No, thanks, honey.
I just want a minute
alone by myself.
Thanks.
Oh.
Oh, I didn't mean you.
I just-- I just mean--
Oh, yeah.
What I could really use right
about now is a little drink.
Oh, I know what you mean,
but I'm not supposed to--
Yeah, yeah.
I know what you mean.
I've been hearing that since
I was about 13 years old.
Guess you can't teach
an old dog new tricks.
Oh, come on.
You can't be any
older than I am.
Well, I sure feel
a whole lot older.
I just wish I could smile
like the way you can.
[giggles]
Ah, that's cute.
[laughs] Can't help
smiling, that's all.
Well-- well, you--
you know, you could
smile too if you wanted to.
Yeah, well, you just smile
for the both of us, honey.
Thank you.
[music playing in distance]
MUSIC - PATTI PAGE,
"TENESSEE WALTZ"
PATTI PAGE: [SINGING]
--my darling,
to the Tennessee waltz--
MAN: Need more change?
Get them ash trays.
MAN: You're gonna have to check
that guitar against the steel
before we up again,
make sure it's in tune.
MAN: Yeah.
I think some dancing.
How are you, Hank?
Not bad.
First a bit flat there, buddy.
MAN: Yeah, I can hear it.
[tuning guitar]
Sure could use
a drink right now.
Anybody got a drink?
Can't anybody hear
what I'm saying?
MAN: Thought you never
touched the stuff.
I want a drink.
I need a drink, and
I want one right now.
MAN: Hank, you don't need to--
Don't tell me what I need.
OK, OK, I'll get you one.
MAN: Thank god.
Back's acting up, ain't it?
Doc, you're the only
one that understands me.
[music playing from jukebox]
Now, don't that feel better?
Yeah, it's coming down.
You just give
them a good show.
This sure is one god awful
way to spend New Year's.
I wonder what Billie
Jean's doing right now.
Probably wondering
what I'm doing.
Well, Billie Jean,
you purty young thing,
your old rambling boy
Hank, he's lost somewhere's
out in Highway 11, between hell
and eternity, just a-pining
for some human
company, for some arms
wrapped around him
good and tight.
Come on.
You've been working all night.
I seen you.
Come on.
Come on and sit down a little.
Thanks.
MAN: Hey, Teddy.
Rootie Tootie.
Let's go, boys.
Can I get you a drink?
Oh, no, thanks.
Can I get you anything?
Some more peanuts
or a glass of water?
Well, that's real nice
of you, but no thanks, hon.
Oh, my name's Betty Anne.
Hank.
Yeah, OK.
Was you wondering when I was
gonna get around to asking you?
No, I-- I was
just telling you.
You got five minutes, Hank.
You ever get nervous?
Oh, not about playing.
About women sometimes.
Oh, come on.
Bet you get all the women
you want, don't you?
Well, mostly I--
I get all the women who want me.
Oh, I don't mean you.
I just want some
company, you know.
Yeah.
[knocking]
BARTENDER: Betty Anne,
get your can out here.
Well, I gotta go now.
Oh, yeah?
It'll be all right.
Oh, yeah.
Say, uh, do you ever pray?
Pray?
No, not since I
was a little girl.
Why?
Nothing.
You better hurry along or your
boss gonna skin you alive.
No, nobody's ever
gonna skin me alive.
See you in a bit
when you come out.
[door closes]
[cheers and applause]
You can't say that
about her, you son of a--
What are you--
drop your hands!
Who the hell do you
think you're talking to?
Come on, come on.
What do you think
you're doing here?
Come on outside.
Yeah, yeah!
Damn Yankee!
Ah, come here.
Lemme at him!
He's nothing but a damn Yankee.
MAN: I don't like him
shoving me around.
Oh, my goodness.
Can I help?
It's OK.
I'll take care of him.
I can get him out.
This happens all the time.
[strumming guitar softly]
I thought everyone had left.
Oh, that don't
matter to me, man.
Come on in.
Don't bother me.
I can't start my cleaning
till all the folks have gone.
Don't bother me none.
Here, try some of this, buddy.
Go on, go on.
Try it.
It's good stuff.
Sit down.
Sit down.
Take a load off.
Can't work, you might
as well sit down.
[playing guitar]
[SINGING] Well, I've been in
the doghouse so doggone long,
when I get a kiss I think
that something's wrong.
I've been--
[trails off]
You know, my wife would
say you've got to half
the world on your shoulder.
Oh, man.
If she said that,
she'd be dead wrong.
I mean, what do I gotta
be sad about, you know?
I'm rich and I'm
famous and I've got
a pretty little wife,
the cutest little boy
you ever want to see.
Money in the bank.
Hell, I got everything, man.
You know what I mean.
[SINGING] Oh, I remember when
you was so nice and sweet,
but something's changed.
You'd rather fight than eat.
[laughter]
[singing]
You know what I mean?
Here, why don't you
go on and try this?
Oh, shoot, man.
Come on.
I bet you can play it real good.
Come on, try it out.
Oh.
Come on, go on.
Here, look.
Tell you what I do.
I'll take-- you take the
guitar, I'll take the bottle.
There you go.
Just take it there.
Play me something now.
[strumming guitar]
I got one for you.
All right.
[playing guitar]
[SINGING] If the
wife and I are fussing,
baby, that's all right,
cause me and that woman
got a license to fight.
Why don't you mind
your own business?
[SINGING] Mind
your own business.
Mind your own business.
Mind your own business.
Cause if you
mind your business,
then you won't be minding mine.
The woman on our party
line's a nosy old thing.
She picks up her receiver
when she knows it's our ring.
Why don't you mind
your own business?
Mind your own business.
MAN: Mind your own business.
Mind your own business.
Cause if you mind
your business then
you won't be minding mine.
I got a little gal.
She wears her hair up high.
The boys all whistle at her
every time she walks by.
Why don't you mind
your own business?
Mind your own business.
Yeah, mind your own business.
Mind your own business.
Well, then you mind
your own business,
then you won't be minding mine.
That right?
[soloing on guitar]
MAN: [SINGING] If want to honky
tonk around till 2:00 or 3:00,
well, baby, that's my headache.
Don't you worry about me.
Just mind your own business.
Mind your own business.
Mind your own business.
Mind your own business.
Cause if you mind
your business then
you won't be minding mine.
And if you mind
your own business,
it will keep you
busy all the time.
Hey.
That's all right, man.
[laughter]
You play that pretty good.
[band hitting final chord]
[cheers and applause]
WOMAN: We want Hank.
Where are you, babe?
Where is he?
When's he gonna come back?
OK, hold your horses, Jackie.
[crowd complaining]
[band playing]
That-- man, that big old
catfish weighed near 14 pounds.
[knocking]
Come on in.
Well, now, isn't this nice?
Listen, they are gonna start
throwing chairs in there--
- Uh-huh.
- You better go on.
I'll be right there.
Look, I'll be there.
Uh-huh.
Come on.
I think she's real mad at me.
I'll be right there.
I'll see you then, man.
- Well, howdy, stranger.
- See?
I told you he was coming back.
They're gonna hate me.
No one is gonna
hate you, Hank.
You just go on out there
and give them a good show.
Come on.
I can't.
I just can't.
I can't disappoint the folks.
Just can't-- it's the
first of many shows.
I gotta-- I just gotta--
[chatter]
[crowd quiets down]
MAN: Oh-oh.
MAN: Talk.
MAN: Come on, Hank.
MAN: All right, I think
we're kinda drunk.
[hank hiccups]
You can do it, Hank.
MAN: Come on.
[chatter]
WOMAN: You're doing fine, son.
You'll be fine.
MAN: That's it.
Now he's good.
MAN: Have a chair, Hank.
Oh, come on.
I ain't gonna do that no how.
Sit down?
MAN: Looks like your wife missed
the bottle backstage, Hank.
[laughter]
Hoo-wee.
OK.
[giggles]
[laughter]
He thinks he's
taking care of me.
They all think they're
taking care of me.
Poor Hank.
That's all I get.
Poor Hank.
Well, poor old Hank is
paying his way in this world,
I'll tell you that.
[crowd approves]
And I'll stand on
my own two feet.
Gracious me.
Lonesome, loosey drifter.
He's out of control here!
[laughter]
[crowd approving]
[playing guitar]
WOMAN: Yeah.
MAN: Yeah.
[singing faintly]
[SINGING] The
rose I wore was red.
[applause]
But today I'm sayin'
my first prayer.
Mama's lying on her dying bed.
I just told Mama good bye.
Mother's Day has
turned to night.
Like the flowers of
May, she withered away.
And my red rose
is turning white.
This is the [trails off]
I just wanna make sure
nobody's feeling too happy.
[laughter]
Well, you know that's the
way you gonna like it.
Everybody-- everybody
thinks they always wanna
hear happy songs all the time.
I mean, if that's so,
how come "Your Cheatin'
Heart" is outselling
"Rootie Tootie" five to one?
[crowd responding]
I don't know.
Maybe it's because I feel
the other side of life
that much stronger,
or maybe it's
cause most folks
ain't sure they're
alive unless they're hurting.
[crowd responding]
Well, y'all are gonna really
love this next song, because--
well, it's one of the most
hurtin'-est songs I ever did
write, and it's probably the
one that more people have made
hits out of than any other.
I mean, it sure didn't
hurt Tony Bennett none.
[laughter]
[band playing]
[applause]
I've tried so hard--
[cheering, applause]
--my dear, to show that
you're my everything.
Yet you're afraid each thing
I do is just some evil scheme.
A memory from your lonesome
past keeps us so far apart.
Why can't I free
your doubtful mind
and melt your cold, cold heart.
Another love before my time
made your heart sad and blue.
And so my heart is paying
now for things I didn't do.
In anger, unkind words are spoke
that make the teardrops fall.
Why can't I free
your doubtful mind
and melt your cold, cold heart.
Had too much milk, Hank?
[laughter]
MAN: No wonder the
Opry fired you, Hank.
Wish we'd get somewheres.
She taking me to the Opry.
We're getting closer.
Sure am tired of
all this driving.
It won't be long now.
Long now-- that's the truth.
Not unless I straighten
myself out real quick.
Now, where was I?
Don't ask me.
[laughter]
That boy's got a bigger
mouth than Huey Long.
[laughter]
You starting to bother me, son.
All right, man.
I was telling you-- we
were talking about women,
and I was telling
you about my wife.
Well, we've become such
good friends here tonight,
I tell you, I'm gonna--
I'm gonna play ya
a flip side now,
do you a little song I wrote
and tell you how I feel,
especially when I
come in off the road
off a summer-long tour.
So boys, can you
give me that now?
[band playing]
MAN: Yee-hee!
OK!
Jackie.
You was too good to
take my ol' bet before.
Oh, no.
Not this one.
Not again.
Well, here's one for you.
[screaming]
[ruckus]
MAN: Get that idiot outta here!
MAN: Well, I-- I
was only having fun.
OK, everybody.
You just settle down now.
Have a good time, you hear me?
Everybody have a good time.
Thanks, Pete.
Half as cool as
the lot'n of us.
Hey, that's OK, buddy.
Happens all the time.
But you know, one
thing you learn when
you-- when you're on
the road all the time
is how to handle a rowdy crowd.
I mean, the only thing
we've thought to do
was to try out-rowdy
them your own self.
[cheering]
This here's a song
I always found
to be about the
best out-rowdiest
that I ever did write.
I want to do it
for you right now.
Come on, boys.
[band playing]
[SINGING] Oh, goodbye, Joe.
We gotta go, me oh my oh.
Oh, me gotta go pole the
pirogue down the bayou.
Oh, my Yvonne, the
sweetest one, me oh my oh.
Hey, son of a gun, we
having fun down the bayou.
Well, jambalaya and a crawfish
pie and the file gumbo,
because tonight I'm gonna
see my chere amie, oh.
Oh, pick guitar, fill
fruit jar, and be gay, oh.
Hey, son of a gun, we having
fun down on the bayou.
Well, Thibodaux to Fontaineaux,
the place is buzzing.
Kinfolk come to see
Yvonne by the dozen.
Well, they're dressed in style.
They go hog wild, me oh my oh.
Hey, son of a gun, we having
fun down on the bayou.
Well, jambalaya and a crawfish
pie and the file gumbo,
cause tonight I'm gonna
see my chere amie, oh.
Oh, pick guitar, fill
fruit jar, and be gay, oh.
Hey, son of a gun, we having
fun down on the bayou.
Let it go, everybody!
[fiddle solo]
Well, I'll settle down far
from town, buy me a pirogue.
I'm gonna catch all the doggone
fish in the doggone bayou.
I'll swap my mo to buy my
Yvonne what she need, oh.
Hey, son of a gun, we having
fun down on the bayou.
Well, jambalaya, crawfish
pie, and the file gumbo
cause tonight I'm gonna
see my chere amie, oh.
Oh, pick guitar, fill
fruit jar, and be gay, oh.
Hey, son of a gun, we
having fun on the bayou.
[cheering, applause]
Thank you.
Thank you.
All right, thank you.
Phew!
Wasn't that something, boy?
Thank you.
Oh, thank you.
[whistling]
Oh, thank you so much.
Really appreciate that.
You know, that's
about the closest
that I ever come to writing what
y'all could call a Cajun song.
I always liked that
kind of Cajun music.
Every time we're
playing down there,
Louisiana or thereabouts.
Now, I was kind of worried
at first at them Cajuns.
They might not like it, but they
seemed to take to it right off.
Hell, the first time we ever
played up in Baton Rouge,
they was throwing $20 bills
right up on the stage.
It's true.
Of course, that ain't nothing
like a real Cajun two step.
I mean, that's the
kind where, you know,
the music gets a
hold on your feet
and there ain't nothing
you can do about it.
I'm telling you.
But I mean, music ain't meant
to be talked about, right?
So come on, boys.
Let's give this
here crowd a listen
to what a real old-fashioned
Cajun two-step is like.
We'll let her fly.
[music playing]
Come on up here
and dance for us.
Come on.
What'd you stop playing for?
Come on?
St-- I got-- I got some
real good dancers here.
Come on.
Strike up and play.
Let's go.
[music starting back up]
[hollering]
[music stops, people gasp]
[groans] Oh, I thought--
there's got to be lights
up ahead there somewheres.
Rest.
That's right.
[exhales]
I'm sure we're lost.
[applause]
You know, sometimes I
figure, being on the road
all the time, playing these
one-nighters week after week,
you know, that's
about as close to hell
as you can get to on this earth.
Well, maybe this
way, the good Lord'll
figure I already done my time
and send me straight to heaven.
[laughter]
Oh, it might seem funny
to you that a man that's
lived the sort of
life I've lived
should be talking about heaven
when all I really have got
a right to talk about is hell.
But you know, somewheres along
the road, ol' Luke the drifter,
he got religion.
Yes, sir, I mean--
there ain't that many
things in this life
that I am positive
about, but I know
as sure as I'm standing
right here that there's
a God out there somewheres.
[crowd murmuring agreement]
Because I mean, this can't
be all there is to it, if it
all ends up in a pine box.
See, when I was
just a little boy,
my mama used to take me to
revival meetings every Sunday.
Well, she used to play the organ
up at the Mount Olive Church.
And well, I used to
sing in the choir.
But the thing I'd
mostly like to do
would be to listen to them
gospel preachers every Sunday
morning, because
they could preach
the gospel so's their words
would make your blood run cold.
I can still hear the voice
of them preachers calling
out to me, talking about Jesus.
Right now, my friends, I
want to tell you about Jesus.
I want to tell you
about Jesus Christ.
I want to tell you about
Jesus Christ the savior.
And I want to tell
you about Jesus
Christ, the savior of mankind.
Hallelujah!
And I want to tell
you about Jesus Christ
the savior of mankind
who lived on this earth.
Jesus Christ, the savior of
mankind who lived on this earth
and died on the cross.
Hallelujah, brother!
MAN: Amen!
I want to tell you about Jesus
Christ, the savior of mankind
who lived on this earth
and died on the cross
for you and your sins.
WOMAN: Praise Jesus!
Tell them, Hank.
And I want to tell you about
the burning fire of hell--
the burning fire of hell that
awaits for you and you and you,
yes, and you and you
unless you repent.
WOMAN: Praise you, Jesus.
HANK WILLIAMS: Unless
you repent right now.
Amen.
Right now, on your hands and
your knees begging forgiveness.
Hallelujah.
HANK WILLIAMS: Forgiveness for
your miserable sins-- to what
I'm telling you about is pain--
WOMAN: Amen.
HANK WILLIAMS: Pain and
sorrow until the end of time.
WOMAN: I love you,
Brother Williams.
HANK WILLIAMS: And I want
to tell you about joy--
joy, happiness, tears
of relief when you rush
into the arms of your savior.
Hallelujah!
When your rush from
the pain, and the sorrow,
and the darkness into
the blinding light,
the blinding light of heaven--
can you imagine it?
Oh, yes!
HANK WILLIAMS: Can
you see the light?
Yes!
HANK WILLIAMS: Can you see the
light standing right there?
Oh, yes!
MAN: Bless you, Hank.
A light infinitely
more powerful
than the blinding blaze of the
sun-- a beacon calling for you.
WOMAN: Hallelujah!
HANK WILLIAMS: The lights
streaming from the bleeding
hands of Jesus.
Oh, Lord!
From the bleeding
hands of Jesus Christ,
the savior of mankind
who lived on this earth
and died on the cross for
you and your miserable sins.
WOMAN: Praise Jesus.
[SINGING] I wandered, so
aimless, life filled with sin.
And I wouldn't let
my dear savior in.
[band joining]
And then Jesus came like
a stranger in the night.
Praise the Lord,
I saw the light.
Oh, I My the light,
I saw the light.
No more darkness, no more night.
Now, I'm so happy,
no sorrow in sight.
Praise the Lord,
I saw the light.
Well, just like a blind
man, I wandered along.
And worries and fears
I claimed for my own.
And then like a blind man
that God gave back his sight,
praise the Lord,
I saw the light.
Hey, I saw the light.
I saw the light.
No more darkness, no more night.
Now I'm so happy,
no sorrow in sight.
Praise the Lord,
I saw the light.
Well, I was a fool
to wander and stray,
cause straight is the
gate and narrow's the way.
And now I have traded
the wrong for the right.
Praise the Lord,
I saw the light.
I saw the light.
I saw the light.
No more darkness, no more night.
Now I'm so happy,
no sorrow in sight.
Praise the Lord,
I saw the light.
Oh, maybe there ain't no light.
I tried.
Lord knows how hard
I tried to believe.
And you know, some mornings, I
wake up, and it's almost there.
MUSIC - HANK WILLIAMS, "I'M
SO LONESOME I COULD CRY"
Hear that lonesome whippoorwill.
He sounds too blue to fly.
That midnight train
is whining low.
I'm so lonesome I could cry.
The silence of a falling
star lights up a purple sky.
And as I wonder where you are,
I'm so lonesome I could cry.
Did you ever see a robin weep
when leaves begin to die?
That means he's lost
the will to live.
I'm so lonesome I could cry.
Lord, must I go on remembered?
Must they look still
be turned away from me?
Each day brings a fresh load of
care, fresh misery to my heart.
Must I ever be the
sport of my enemies?
Look upon me, oh, Lord, my God.
Listen to me.
Give light to these eyes
before they close in death.
Do not let my enemies
claim the mastery,
and my persecutors
triumph over my fall.
I cast myself on thy mercy.
[WHISPERING] And
I saw the light.
I saw the light.
But you know, I tried so hard to
give up looking for that light.
I just can't.
That's all.
I just can't.
[band playing quietly]
You'll meet many just like
me along life's busy street
with shoulders stooped and
heads bowed low and eyes
that stare in defeat.
They're souls that live within
the past, where sorrow plays
all parts, and a living
death is all that's
left to men with broken hearts.
Life sometimes can be
so cruel that a heart
will break with it.
Lord, why must these living dead
know pain with every breath?
Some lose faith in love and life
when sorrow shoots her darts.
And with hope all
gone, they walk alone,
these man with broken hearts.
Now, you've never walked
in that man's shoes
or seen things through
his eyes, or stood
and watched with helpless hands
while the heart inside you
dies.
Some were paupers,
some were kings,
some were masters of the arts.
But in their shame,
they're all the same,
these men with broken hearts.
And even sleep brings no
relief to all these men
who curse their birth.
They have no dreams of
happiness in heaven or on earth.
Well, how can a man have
faith in God when faith in man
departs?
And to those who weep,
death comes cheap,
these men with broken hearts.
Well, that's all.
I don't want else to say, except
good night and God bless you.
Say a prayer for me.
Happy New Year's, everybody.
[bell tolling in distance]
MUSIC - HANK WILLIAMS,
"SETTING THE WOODS ON FIRE"
Comb your hair and
paint and powder.
You act proud, and
I'll act prouder.
You sing loud, and
I'll sing louder.
Tonight we're setting
the woods on fire.
You're my gal and
I'm your feller.
Dress up in your
frock of yeller.
I'll look swell, but
you'll look sweller,
setting the woods on fire.
We'll take in all
the honky tonks.
Tonight, we're having fun.
We'll show the folks a brand new
dance that never has been done.
I don't care who
thinks we're silly.
You'll be Daffy.
I'll be Dilly.
We'll order up two
bowls of chili,
setting the woods on fire.
I'll gas my hot rod stoker.
We'll get hotter than a poker.
You'll be broke,
but I'll be broker.
Tonight, we're setting
the woods on fire.
We'll sit close to one
another, up one street
and down the other.
Will we have a
time, oh, brother,
setting the woods on fire.
We'll put aside a little
time to fix a flat or two.
My ties and tubes
are doing fine,
but the air is showing through.
I don't care who
thinks we're silly.
You be Daffy.
I'll be Dilly.
We'll order up two
bowls of chili,
setting the woods on fire.
I'll gas up my hot rod stoker.
We'll be hotter than a poker.
You'll be broke,
but I'll be broker.
Tonight, we're setting
the woods on fire.
We'll sit close to one
another, up one street
and down the other.
Will we have a
time, oh, brother,
setting the woods on fire.
We'll put aside a little
time to fix a flat or two.
My ties and tubes
are doing fine,
but the air is showing through.
You clap hands and
I'll start bowing.
We'll do all the law's allowing.
Tomorrow, I'll be
right back plowing,
setting the woods on fire.
MUSIC - HANK WILLIAMS,
"SETTIN' THE WOODS ON FIRE"
HANK WILLIAMS: [SINGING]
Comb your hair, and paint
and, powder.
You act proud, and
I'll act prouder.
You sing loud and
I'll sing louder,
tonight we're settin'
the woods on fire.
You're my gal and I'm
your fella, dressed
up in your frock of yeller.
I look swell, but
you look sweller
setting the woods on fire.
We'll take in all
the honky tonks,
tonight we're having fun.
We'll show the folks a brand new
dance that never has been done.
I don't care who
thinks we're silly.
You be daffy.
I'll be dilly.
We'll order up two
bowls of chili,
setting the woods on fire.
I'll gas up my hot rod stoker.
We'll get hotter than a poker.
You'll be broke,
but I'll be broker.
Tonight we're setting
the woods on fire.
We'll sit close to one
another, up one street
and down the other.
Will we have a time, oh brother,
setting the woods on fire.
We'll put aside a little
time to fix a flat or two.
My trey and tube are doing fine
but the air is showing through.
I used to get a real
kick out of hearing
my own songs on the radio.
God, I'm feeling foolish.
I just can't stand to
be cooped up like this.
DJ [ON RADIO]: Yes, sir, folks.
That was Hank Williams,
the king of country music
with another number one hit.
King of country music.
Wish I didn't have to play in
a big arena in Ohio tomorrow
night.
Tonight's the night I should
be up on some stage somwheres.
Yeah, some nice little
place like one of them
bars we're driving
right on past.
Lately, I've been going up on
them stages and pretending.
But tonight, you know,
I could say it right.
The boys can be there and
somebody'd have a fiddle.
A good old Saturday night band.
We could have the best
damn New Year's Eve
party anybody ever saw, yeah.
[chatter]
[music playing]
Well, thank you very much.
[chatter]
So I turned to him and
I said, well, Jackson,
if'n that's the way
you feel about it,
you can just have
your ring back.
And I tell you, he
sure was shocked.
[laughter]
[chatter]
[applause]
Right along about now,
I guess the boys will
be warming up the crowd
with "Why Don't You
Love Me Like You Used To Do?"
[SINGING] Well, why don't you
love me, like you used to do?
Why do you treat me
like a worn out shoe?
My hair's still curly and
my eyee are still blue.
So why don't you love
me like you used to do?
[music playing]
Ah, Eric.
Happy New Year!
Woo!
My ma had 13 kids.
And only eight of us survived.
Hey.
[car honks]
Hey, he's here.
I just saw him--
Hank Williams.
I really did.
Where?
Oh, there he is.
I see him.
[crowd cheering]
Touch me, Hank.
Touch me.
Sign it with all my love.
Oh-oh-oh!
So handsome and sweet.
Hank!
Hank!
[shrieks]
Hank!
Excuse me.
Isn't he cute?
Sorry, right this way,
please, Mr. Williams.
Thank you, ma'am.
It's like a centipede.
Thanks for helpin' me.
He's a lot taller
than I thought he'd be.
Why, I've never seen
anyone in person before.
Looks pretty ordinary to me.
Ladies and gentlemen,
right now we're
proud to introduce
you to the finest
country gentleman of all time.
Star of radio, recordings,
and personal appearances,
and the writer and singer of
such great songs "Your Cheating
Heart," "Hey, Good Looking,"
"So Lonesome I Could Die,"
and many others.
We're joined now by Alabama,
ladies and gentlemen.
[inaudible] himself!
[cheering]
Well, this is a mighty
fine hall y'all got here.
Yes, sir.
Well, for them that don't
know, my name is Hank Williams
and I'm here to--
[cheering]
And I'm here tonight to
sing some songs for you.
So y'all just settle back there.
We're gonna have
ourselves a good time.
Happy New Year's, everybody.
Happy New Year's.
Thank you, Hank.
Happy New Year!
Well, you only got
about an hour left.
But you know, I,
for one, won't be
too sad to see 1952 go on by.
I can see a whole
lot of changes coming
down the road for nineteen
hundred and fifty-three.
Well, we're going to
have a new administration
up there in Washington.
Inauguration day for old
Ike and Richard Nixon
coming up any time
now, that's right.
And maybe this year, our
boys are finally going
to win that war over in Korea.
Be nice to get that
mess all cleaned up
and have our boys back
here with their loved ones.
Wouldn't that be nice?
Well, maybe this
year the Dodgers
are finally going to
beat them damn New York
Yankees in the World Series.
[cheering]
Of course, looking
into New Year's can
be scary sometimes, too.
I don't know what it is.
You know, sometimes you
just kind of get a feeling
that, well, there's
something coming
down-- something coming
down the road at me
or something like that.
I just don't know.
I don't know what it is.
Come on, boy, play
us some music.
That's what people want to hear.
I mean, that's what they
paid their money for.
MUSIC - HANK WILLIAMS,
"HONKY TONKIN'"
One, two, three.
[SINGING] When you
are sad and lonely
and you got no place to
go, come along sweet momma
and bring along some dough.
And we'll go honky tonkin',
honky tonkin' honky
tonkin', honey babe.
We go honky tonkin'
'round this town.
Ah, he's all right.
Yeah, he's good.
Now, if you and your sweet
baby have a falling out.
Come and see me momma and
we'll go stepping out.
And we'll go honky
tonkin', honky tonkin'.
Honky tonkin' honey babe, we go
honky tonkin' around this town.
On to you now.
[cheering]
I'm going to the city,
to the city fair.
If you go to the city, then
you will find me there.
And we go honky tonkin',
honky tonkin', honky
tonkin', honey babe.
We go honky tonkin'
'round this town.
Take it away again.
And we going honky tonkin',
honky tonkin', honky
tonkin', honey baby.
We going honky tonkin'
around this town.
[cheers and applause]
Come on, let's
keep things moving.
MUSIC - HANK WILLIAMS,
"LONESOME BLUES"
I got a feeling
called the blues,
oh, Lord, since my
baby said goodbye.
Lord, I don't know
what I'll do, all I do
is sit and sigh, oh Lord.
That last long day she
said goodbye Well Lord
I thought I would cry.
She'll do me, she'll do you.
She's got that kind of loving.
Lord I love to hear her when
she call me sweet daddy.
Such a beautiful dream, I
hate to think it all over.
I've lost my heart it seems.
I've grown so used
to you somehow,
we'll I'm nobody's sugar
daddy now and I'm lonesome.
I got the lovesick blues.
Well, I'm in love, I'm in
love with a beautiful gal.
That's what's the
matter with me.
Yes, I'm in love, I'm in
love with a beautiful gal
but she don't care about me.
Lord, I tried and I tried
to keep her satisfied
but she just wouldn't stay.
So now that she is leaving
This is all that I can say.
I got a feeling called
the blues oh Lord
since my baby said goodbye.
Oh Lord, I don't
know what to do,
all I do is sit
and sigh, oh Lord.
Last long day she said goodbye,
Lord I thought I would cry.
She'll do me.
She'll do you.
She's got that kind of loving.
Lord I love to hear it when
she calls me sweet daddy.
Such a beautiful dream, I
hate to think it all over.
I've lost my heart it seems.
And I've grown so
used to you somehow.
Well, I'm nobody's sugar
daddy now and I'm lonesome.
I got the lovesick blues.
[cheering]
Thank you so much.
You know, some would say
that ain't much of a song,
but I mean he's done
all right by me so far.
It's made me $34,000.
I remember one time this
fella come up to me.
You know what he said?
Hank, he said, I sure am
getting tired of hearing
you singing that stupid song.
Why don't you learn a new one?
Well, buddy, I said, that
song's done pretty good by me.
You tell me what song's
ever made you $34,000.
I'll sing that one.
[laughter]
[cheers and applause]
Yeah, I remember the
first time I ever played
up there at the Grand Ole Opry.
Must of been two
or three years ago.
'49, wasn't it? '49.
Yup, '49.
Well, sir, I must have gotten
half dozen encores, you know.
They just wouldn't let
me get off that stage.
[cheers and applause]
I can't rightly
seem to get the hang
of this here guitar tonight.
I don't know what it is.
Seems like someone
went and switched
the strings around on me.
Must have been when
I was out having
me a little glass of milk.
Of course, I don't play
too good the best of times.
I play the way I play is all.
I remember the first
time I ever heard
Teddy here play the guitar.
I like the way he played.
So I asked him if he
wanted to join my band.
He said, oh I could
never play with you
Mr. Williams because the
only chords I know was
is C, G, and B. I said
Teddy that's all there is.
[laughter]
[cheers and applause]
Now, I learned guitar myself.
And I was no more
than 9 or 10 years old
by an old negro street
singer named Rufus Payne.
Tee Tot everybody called him.
A funny name, that.
Tee Tot.
But that's what they called him.
And old Tee Tot, he
learned me everything I
ever knew about guitar playing.
Of course, he's dead now.
He left us many years ago.
But you can't live in
the past all the time.
So come on, boys, let's play
some more tunes for these folks
here.
I'm sure they'd enjoy it.
Wouldn't you?
Huh?
MAN: Mind you own business.
[cheering]
Jambalaya!
[crowd gasps]
[cheers and applause]
I'm so embarrassed.
[stammers]
Well, honey, you
win a Kewpie doll.
Now-- now, what song
y'all want to hear?
"Kaw-Liga."
"Kaw-Liga?"
You heard the lady.
Never turn a lady down.
MUSIC - HANK
WILLIAMS, "KAW LIGA"
Kaw-Liga was a wooden
Indian standing by the door.
He fell in love
with a Indian maiden
over in the antique store.
Kaw-Liga just stood there
and never let it show.
So she could answer yes or no.
He always wore his Sunday
feathers and held a tomahawk.
The maiden wore her beads
and braids and hoped someday
he'd talk.
Kaw-Liga too stubborn
to ever show a sign,
because his heart was
made of knotty pine.
Oh poor old Kaw-Liga,
he never got a kiss.
Poor old Kaw-Liga, he
didn't know what he missed.
Is it any wonder
that his face is red?
Kaw-Liga, that poor
old wooden head.
Kaw-Liga was a lonely
Indian, never went no where.
His heart was set on the Indian
maid with the coal black hair.
Kaw-Liga just stood there
and never let it show,
so she could never
answer yes or no.
And then one day
a wealthy customer
bought that Indian maid,
and took her oh so far away
but old Kaw-Liga stayed.
Kaw-Liga just stands
there lonely as can be
and wishes he was
still an old pine tree.
Oh, poor old Kaw-Liga,
he never got a kiss.
Oh poor old Kaw-Liga, he
don't know what he missed.
Is it any wonder
that his face is red?
Kaw-Liga, that poor
old wooden head.
[cheers and applause]
MAN: Excuse me.
Outta my way.
Excuse me.
Hey.
- Oh, no, thanks.
No, I'm all right.
Have one on me.
Thanks, I never
touch the stuff.
Oh, come on.
Wet your whistle.
Well, thank you, buddy.
Thank you.
Right.
It sure does look
good, but, you know,
lately I've been trying to
cut down on my drinking.
And you know what?
I've been doing
real good lately.
Good for you, Hank.
Yeah.
At least, when
I've been trying.
It's funny what drinking
will do to a man.
I don't know if any of you out
there ever had one too many
ever once in a while?
Not me!
[laughter]
Well, I'll tell
you, it kind of
messes up your sense of time.
I remember one time Fred Rose--
you know, that's the
fella who publishes
my songs up there in Nashville.
He called me on the telephone.
He said, Hank.
He said, we figure it's time
for you to cut a new record.
I said, Fred, what's wrong
with the one I done last week?
Well, he kind of
hemmed and hawed.
And he said, Hank, the
last record you made
was four months ago.
Now, since that time, your
version sold half a million.
But Tony Bennett's version
has sold 2 million.
Well, I finally got the time
sequence straight my head
but there was one little thing
I could never figure out.
Just who the hell
is Tony Bennett?
[laughter]
Oh, he's just playing with us.
[laughs]
[applause]
You know, times have
changed and I'm really
trying to cut down
on my drinking
because, you know, all my
buddies up there in Nashville--
my good friends-- they got
big plans for me when I went
to get off of this road tour.
Yes sir, big plans, just so long
as I can cut down on the booze.
Big plans.
Them Opry folks never should
have fired me like that.
Now, what'd they say
that date was again?
Well, one of these days when
I walk on out that Opry stage,
one of these days.
Man, it sure is fine.
[applause]
[VOICEOVER] Howdy,
folks, mighty glad to be
back here at the Opry.
Thanks be to God
and, of course, radio
station WSM and
The National Life
and Accident Insurance Company.
Well, sir, I see the Opry
ain't changed a whole lot
since I've been away.
I look over here
and a ways there
and there's Earnest Tubb
waiting come on out.
Well, and there's Roy
Acuff, and Hank Snow,
and Cousin Minnie Pearl.
MINNIE PEARL
[VOICEOVER]: Howdy, Hank.
Howdy, Minnie.
Sure is fine to be back up here.
Now, if you ways to ask me
why I'd been away so long,
this is what I'd tell you.
[MUSIC - HANK
WILLIAMS, "TOO MANY
PARTIES AND TOO MANY PALS"]
Too many parties
and too many pals
will break your heart some day.
Too many evenings
spent out on the town
will drive good fortune away.
Gentlemen of the jury,
the judge's speech began.
The scene was a crowded
courtroom and the judge
was a stern old man.
Now, this prisoner
here before you.
Why he's a social enemy,
an outcast and a drunkard.
And you know the penalty.
His face reflects the nightlife.
His eyes are sunk
with pain, but you
know your brother, gentlemen,
is a very respected man.
Now, in someways
he's not like him,
and yet he might have been.
If it hadn't a been
for his drinking
buddies, fast women, and gin.
See, we took the
nightlife off the streets,
brought it into our own
dens with the smiles
of faceless women and the men
who called themselves friends.
We opened up the underworld
to the ones we love so well.
So tell me gentlemen,
is it right
that we send him to a cell?
If he drink, why you taught him.
And he errs, you showed him how.
So I ask you, is it right
to go and condemn a man?
And before you reach your
verdict on what this man has
done, be sure you didn't
lead him down the road
where he stands all alone.
Now gentlemen, that's my story.
My testimony stands.
This man is my own brother
and the case is in your hands.
Those empty friendship
and frivolous hours
and too many parties
and too many pals.
[cheers and applause]
Can you play this for me?
Well, I sure will.
Thank you.
Say, anybody out
there baseball fans?
[cheering]
Oh, boy.
You know, that's
something that I really
like to do is listen to
them ballgames on the radio,
especially when we're driving
along from town to town.
I never drive myself.
I always have some other
fella to do the driving.
And I don't much care what
ballgame it is, really.
I got no hometown team.
I mean, when you're on the
road all the time like I am,
it gets so you
can't even remember
if you've got a hometown.
But I guess it's all
us drifters, you know,
all the people who got no
team of their own, always
end up rooting for them
Brooklyn Dodgers, the Bums.
[applause]
Hoo-ee.
You know, the way my
life's been going,
sometimes I feel just like
them Brooklyn Dodgers.
Well, you remember two
years ago back in '50
when they lost the
pennant in the last inning
of the last game of the season.
Cost me 50 bucks.
[laughs]
HANK WILLIAMS: And last
year was the same thing.
They're ahead 4-1.
They're going into the
ninth and they lose it 5-4.
Now, this year, they
did better, way better.
They didn't lose 'til the
last game of the World Series.
Well, maybe next year.
Now, this next song is
called "You Win Again."
Thought I forgot your
request, didn't you, honey?
Well, I didn't write it for
the Bums, but I think tonight,
I'm going to
dedicate it to them.
To the Bums and all the bums.
All them folks always
seem to end up losing
right in the last inning.
Take it away.
MUSIC - HANK WILLIAMS,
"YOU WIN AGAIN"
The news is out all
over town that you've
been seen a-runnin' round.
Oh, I know that I
should leave, but then
I just can't go you win again.
That is such a beautiful song.
It's about my most
favorite, I think.
Don't you just think it's
just wonderful, Jackie?
I don't know.
I kind of like
[inaudible] better.
Uh, so cute.
HANK WILLIAMS: --but me.
Just trusting you.
Well, babe all I got left in
this world is the wife and you.
You know, sometimes I
wished I only had you.
And you're so pretty.
Sound so sweet.
And never talk mean to me.
And I'm sorry for your victim
now for soon his head like mine
will bow.
He'll give his heart but
all in vain and someday
say you win again.
'Cause you have no heart.
You have no shame.
You take true love
and give the blame.
Oh, I guess that I
should not complain.
Oh, I love you still.
You win again.
[cheers and applause]
Yes, sir.
That's-- that "You Win
Again," that's about as true
as I can write it, you know?
I always write my songs
about what's happened to me.
See, when I say, I got
the blues-- hoo-wee.
[laughter]
You better believe it, boy.
I mean, I could get the blues
better than any man alive.
[laughter]
I mean, if your woman
ain't left you alone
and you wishing that she would--
well, like my new wife--
name of Billie Jean.
God.
Why, I loved her so much
I married her three times.
[laughter]
Well, two times on
the stage at the New
Orleans Municipal Auditorium.
But now that we're all hitched
up real good and proper, why,
she can be mean and
ornery sometimes, though.
She calls it taking care of me.
[crowd murmurs]
For instance, she's always
smashing my bottles.
I mean, how's a man to live
without he's got a bottle
or two around the house?
[crowd murmurs in agreement]
The other night I
come home, I seen
her pouring a bottle of my best
Jim Beam right down the toilet.
[crowd groans]
I only kept it around
for my back pain anyways.
[laughter]
She even found a
bottle I had hid
in my old pair of cowboy boots.
And the one I had taped
inside of my guitar?
[laughter]
And a little bitty one
I had hid in the radio
there, in there with the
tubes and the wires and such?
All on account that she
couldn't get Wheeling,
West Virginia WWVA real good.
[laughter]
So she had to go
look inside of it.
Just plain mean and ornery.
But I believe everybody gets
what they deserve in this life.
And sometimes it
don't look like that,
but things ain't
always like they seem.
Now, Billie Jean,
she's my second one.
You take my first wife, Audrey--
boy, you people are
lucky you never met her.
[laughter]
Why, I loved her better than
any man ought to love any woman.
Now, she's got my house, my
money, my kid, and my heart.
Ask me if I still love
my used-to-be wife,
I'll lie and say no.
[playing guitar]
Today I passed
you on the street.
[cheers and applause]
And my heart fell at your feet.
I can't help it if I'm
still in love with you.
Somebody else was by your side.
And he looked so satisfied.
I can't help it if I'm
still in love with you.
A picture from the
past came slowly
stealing as I brushed your arm
and walked so close to you.
And suddenly, I got
that old time feeling.
I can't help it if I'm
still in love with you.
It's hard to know another's
lips will kiss you.
And he'll hold you
the way I used to do.
Oh, heaven only knows
how much I miss you.
I can't help it if I'm
still in love with you.
[cheers and applause]
Well, thank you.
Thank you very much.
You know, you'd think that
woman's got everything, right?
She made me miserable and
still ended up with everything.
But I figure I'm
still gonna win out
in the long run, because you
see, in 100 years from now,
if people still listen to
my records, god willing--
why, they're gonna
to know everything
there is to know about
that woman and me,
because I wrote it all
down right from the start.
I guess when you look at all
them songs in order, you know,
it's kind of like,
well, a play that
y'all might read in a book.
Well, here, I'll
play-act it for you now.
Now, Act One, that's
when you're still hoping.
Well, you know how it is.
You see a pretty little gal
walking down the street,
and only thing you can say
is something like this.
Say, hey, good-lookin'.
Say, what you got cooking?
How's about cooking
something up with me?
Say, hey, sweet baby.
Say, don't you
think maybe we could
find us a brand new recipe?
I got a hot rod
Ford and a $2 bill.
And I know a spot
right over the hill.
They got soda pop and
the dancing's free.
So if you wanna have
fun, come along with me.
I say, hey, good looking.
Say, what you got cooking?
How's about cooking
something up with me?
And then things start
to look like they're
really gonna work out.
Well, I met my
future bride today.
And her name is Kathy Mae.
Rootie Tootie.
Rootie Tootie.
HANK WILLIAMS:
Oh, Rootie Tootie.
Rootie Tootie.
Yeah, Rootie Tootie,
she's my Sunday gal.
Well, she's got
purty eyes of blue.
And she thinks I'm purty too.
Wicky-wacky.
Rootie Tootie.
Oh, Rootie Tootie.
Rootie Tootie.
Yeah, Rootie Tootie,
she's my Monday gal.
Well, you should see the
people stare when she
walks all across the square.
Bouncy-bouncy.
Rootie Tootie.
Oh, whoopsie-daisy.
Rootie Tootie.
Yeah, Rootie Tootie,
she's my Tuesday gal.
[cheers and applause]
Thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Then comes Act Two, and
that's when you start
to see the way it really is.
If you loved me half
as much as I love you,
oh, you wouldn't worry me
half as much as you do.
You're nice to me when
there's no one else around.
You always build me
up to let me down.
If you missed me half
as much as I missed you,
oh, you wouldn't stay away
half as much as you do.
I know that I would never be
this blue if you only loved
me half as much as I love you.
And then finally, you see that
woman for what she really is.
Your cheating heart--
[crowd erupting in cheers]
--will make you weep.
You'll cry and cry
and try to sleep.
But sleep won't come
the whole night through.
Your cheating heart
will tell on you.
When tears come down
like falling rain,
you'll toss around
and call my name.
You'll walk the
floor the way I do.
Your cheating heart
will tell on you.
[cheers and applause]
Thank you.
He must know my wife.
[cheers and applause]
Then comes Act Three.
And that's when
there ain't no more.
And well, you just keep hoping
that the curtain's gonna fall.
You know, it's funny, but
that's the kind of song
that you can't lose.
I mean, the ones
that stay with you--
the songs that you write
when you're all alone again.
[playing guitar]
We met in the springtime
when blossoms unfold.
The pastures were green
and the meadows were gold.
Our love was in flower
as summer grew on.
Her love, like the leaves,
now has withered and gone.
The roses have faded.
There's frost at my door.
The birds in the morning
don't sing anymore.
The grass in the valley
has started to die.
And out in the darkness,
the whippoorwill cries.
Alone and forsaken
by fate and by man--
oh, Lord, if you hear me,
please hold to my hand.
Oh, please understand.
Where has she gone to?
Where can she be?
She may have forsaken
some other like me.
She promised to honor,
to love, and obey.
Each vow was a plaything
that she threw away.
The darkness has fallen.
The sky has turned grey.
A hound in the distance
has started to bay.
I wonder, I wonder
what she's thinking of.
Forsaken, forgotten,
without any love.
Alone and forsaken
by fate and by man--
oh, Lord, if you hear me,
please hold to my hand.
Oh, please understand.
It's funny how it
always seems to turn out
the same way every single time.
[cheers and applause]
Carl, don't you remember me?
Oh, yeah, of course
I remember you.
Catch you later.
Some dressing room they
got for us here, huh?
Just like home.
MAN: Good-lookin' women out
there tonight, though, boy.
Did you see that pretty
little gal sitting up front?
Phew!
Well, boys, before
we go any further,
I just want to tell you
that the waitress is mine.
But I brought you
a little something
from my private collection as
a sort of consolation prize.
MAN: Mighty fine, mighty
fine, have a look at that.
MAN: My, my, my.
MAN: Helluva crowd.
Oh, god, I'm bushed.
Feels good to get these
boots off, I tell you.
Feeling all right, Hank?
Not too bad.
Only thing I regret
is not killing
that fool horse I fell off.
MAN: Hey, Teddy, that was some
fine picking tonight, boy.
Mighty fine.
MAN: I thank you, sir.
MAN: Of course, now, it might
make it just a little better
if you'd just turn on your amp.
[laughter]
MAN: And by way, what string
you got broken there, boy?
Is that the C, G, or D?
[laughter]
You guys never
gonna let that one go.
I know.
MAN: Let me have a look
at that guitar a minute.
[woman singing in distance]
[laughter]
Hi.
Um, you all right?
Can I get you
anything, Mr. Williams?
No.
No, thanks, honey.
I just want a minute
alone by myself.
Thanks.
Oh.
Oh, I didn't mean you.
I just-- I just mean--
Oh, yeah.
What I could really use right
about now is a little drink.
Oh, I know what you mean,
but I'm not supposed to--
Yeah, yeah.
I know what you mean.
I've been hearing that since
I was about 13 years old.
Guess you can't teach
an old dog new tricks.
Oh, come on.
You can't be any
older than I am.
Well, I sure feel
a whole lot older.
I just wish I could smile
like the way you can.
[giggles]
Ah, that's cute.
[laughs] Can't help
smiling, that's all.
Well-- well, you--
you know, you could
smile too if you wanted to.
Yeah, well, you just smile
for the both of us, honey.
Thank you.
[music playing in distance]
MUSIC - PATTI PAGE,
"TENESSEE WALTZ"
PATTI PAGE: [SINGING]
--my darling,
to the Tennessee waltz--
MAN: Need more change?
Get them ash trays.
MAN: You're gonna have to check
that guitar against the steel
before we up again,
make sure it's in tune.
MAN: Yeah.
I think some dancing.
How are you, Hank?
Not bad.
First a bit flat there, buddy.
MAN: Yeah, I can hear it.
[tuning guitar]
Sure could use
a drink right now.
Anybody got a drink?
Can't anybody hear
what I'm saying?
MAN: Thought you never
touched the stuff.
I want a drink.
I need a drink, and
I want one right now.
MAN: Hank, you don't need to--
Don't tell me what I need.
OK, OK, I'll get you one.
MAN: Thank god.
Back's acting up, ain't it?
Doc, you're the only
one that understands me.
[music playing from jukebox]
Now, don't that feel better?
Yeah, it's coming down.
You just give
them a good show.
This sure is one god awful
way to spend New Year's.
I wonder what Billie
Jean's doing right now.
Probably wondering
what I'm doing.
Well, Billie Jean,
you purty young thing,
your old rambling boy
Hank, he's lost somewhere's
out in Highway 11, between hell
and eternity, just a-pining
for some human
company, for some arms
wrapped around him
good and tight.
Come on.
You've been working all night.
I seen you.
Come on.
Come on and sit down a little.
Thanks.
MAN: Hey, Teddy.
Rootie Tootie.
Let's go, boys.
Can I get you a drink?
Oh, no, thanks.
Can I get you anything?
Some more peanuts
or a glass of water?
Well, that's real nice
of you, but no thanks, hon.
Oh, my name's Betty Anne.
Hank.
Yeah, OK.
Was you wondering when I was
gonna get around to asking you?
No, I-- I was
just telling you.
You got five minutes, Hank.
You ever get nervous?
Oh, not about playing.
About women sometimes.
Oh, come on.
Bet you get all the women
you want, don't you?
Well, mostly I--
I get all the women who want me.
Oh, I don't mean you.
I just want some
company, you know.
Yeah.
[knocking]
BARTENDER: Betty Anne,
get your can out here.
Well, I gotta go now.
Oh, yeah?
It'll be all right.
Oh, yeah.
Say, uh, do you ever pray?
Pray?
No, not since I
was a little girl.
Why?
Nothing.
You better hurry along or your
boss gonna skin you alive.
No, nobody's ever
gonna skin me alive.
See you in a bit
when you come out.
[door closes]
[cheers and applause]
You can't say that
about her, you son of a--
What are you--
drop your hands!
Who the hell do you
think you're talking to?
Come on, come on.
What do you think
you're doing here?
Come on outside.
Yeah, yeah!
Damn Yankee!
Ah, come here.
Lemme at him!
He's nothing but a damn Yankee.
MAN: I don't like him
shoving me around.
Oh, my goodness.
Can I help?
It's OK.
I'll take care of him.
I can get him out.
This happens all the time.
[strumming guitar softly]
I thought everyone had left.
Oh, that don't
matter to me, man.
Come on in.
Don't bother me.
I can't start my cleaning
till all the folks have gone.
Don't bother me none.
Here, try some of this, buddy.
Go on, go on.
Try it.
It's good stuff.
Sit down.
Sit down.
Take a load off.
Can't work, you might
as well sit down.
[playing guitar]
[SINGING] Well, I've been in
the doghouse so doggone long,
when I get a kiss I think
that something's wrong.
I've been--
[trails off]
You know, my wife would
say you've got to half
the world on your shoulder.
Oh, man.
If she said that,
she'd be dead wrong.
I mean, what do I gotta
be sad about, you know?
I'm rich and I'm
famous and I've got
a pretty little wife,
the cutest little boy
you ever want to see.
Money in the bank.
Hell, I got everything, man.
You know what I mean.
[SINGING] Oh, I remember when
you was so nice and sweet,
but something's changed.
You'd rather fight than eat.
[laughter]
[singing]
You know what I mean?
Here, why don't you
go on and try this?
Oh, shoot, man.
Come on.
I bet you can play it real good.
Come on, try it out.
Oh.
Come on, go on.
Here, look.
Tell you what I do.
I'll take-- you take the
guitar, I'll take the bottle.
There you go.
Just take it there.
Play me something now.
[strumming guitar]
I got one for you.
All right.
[playing guitar]
[SINGING] If the
wife and I are fussing,
baby, that's all right,
cause me and that woman
got a license to fight.
Why don't you mind
your own business?
[SINGING] Mind
your own business.
Mind your own business.
Mind your own business.
Cause if you
mind your business,
then you won't be minding mine.
The woman on our party
line's a nosy old thing.
She picks up her receiver
when she knows it's our ring.
Why don't you mind
your own business?
Mind your own business.
MAN: Mind your own business.
Mind your own business.
Cause if you mind
your business then
you won't be minding mine.
I got a little gal.
She wears her hair up high.
The boys all whistle at her
every time she walks by.
Why don't you mind
your own business?
Mind your own business.
Yeah, mind your own business.
Mind your own business.
Well, then you mind
your own business,
then you won't be minding mine.
That right?
[soloing on guitar]
MAN: [SINGING] If want to honky
tonk around till 2:00 or 3:00,
well, baby, that's my headache.
Don't you worry about me.
Just mind your own business.
Mind your own business.
Mind your own business.
Mind your own business.
Cause if you mind
your business then
you won't be minding mine.
And if you mind
your own business,
it will keep you
busy all the time.
Hey.
That's all right, man.
[laughter]
You play that pretty good.
[band hitting final chord]
[cheers and applause]
WOMAN: We want Hank.
Where are you, babe?
Where is he?
When's he gonna come back?
OK, hold your horses, Jackie.
[crowd complaining]
[band playing]
That-- man, that big old
catfish weighed near 14 pounds.
[knocking]
Come on in.
Well, now, isn't this nice?
Listen, they are gonna start
throwing chairs in there--
- Uh-huh.
- You better go on.
I'll be right there.
Look, I'll be there.
Uh-huh.
Come on.
I think she's real mad at me.
I'll be right there.
I'll see you then, man.
- Well, howdy, stranger.
- See?
I told you he was coming back.
They're gonna hate me.
No one is gonna
hate you, Hank.
You just go on out there
and give them a good show.
Come on.
I can't.
I just can't.
I can't disappoint the folks.
Just can't-- it's the
first of many shows.
I gotta-- I just gotta--
[chatter]
[crowd quiets down]
MAN: Oh-oh.
MAN: Talk.
MAN: Come on, Hank.
MAN: All right, I think
we're kinda drunk.
[hank hiccups]
You can do it, Hank.
MAN: Come on.
[chatter]
WOMAN: You're doing fine, son.
You'll be fine.
MAN: That's it.
Now he's good.
MAN: Have a chair, Hank.
Oh, come on.
I ain't gonna do that no how.
Sit down?
MAN: Looks like your wife missed
the bottle backstage, Hank.
[laughter]
Hoo-wee.
OK.
[giggles]
[laughter]
He thinks he's
taking care of me.
They all think they're
taking care of me.
Poor Hank.
That's all I get.
Poor Hank.
Well, poor old Hank is
paying his way in this world,
I'll tell you that.
[crowd approves]
And I'll stand on
my own two feet.
Gracious me.
Lonesome, loosey drifter.
He's out of control here!
[laughter]
[crowd approving]
[playing guitar]
WOMAN: Yeah.
MAN: Yeah.
[singing faintly]
[SINGING] The
rose I wore was red.
[applause]
But today I'm sayin'
my first prayer.
Mama's lying on her dying bed.
I just told Mama good bye.
Mother's Day has
turned to night.
Like the flowers of
May, she withered away.
And my red rose
is turning white.
This is the [trails off]
I just wanna make sure
nobody's feeling too happy.
[laughter]
Well, you know that's the
way you gonna like it.
Everybody-- everybody
thinks they always wanna
hear happy songs all the time.
I mean, if that's so,
how come "Your Cheatin'
Heart" is outselling
"Rootie Tootie" five to one?
[crowd responding]
I don't know.
Maybe it's because I feel
the other side of life
that much stronger,
or maybe it's
cause most folks
ain't sure they're
alive unless they're hurting.
[crowd responding]
Well, y'all are gonna really
love this next song, because--
well, it's one of the most
hurtin'-est songs I ever did
write, and it's probably the
one that more people have made
hits out of than any other.
I mean, it sure didn't
hurt Tony Bennett none.
[laughter]
[band playing]
[applause]
I've tried so hard--
[cheering, applause]
--my dear, to show that
you're my everything.
Yet you're afraid each thing
I do is just some evil scheme.
A memory from your lonesome
past keeps us so far apart.
Why can't I free
your doubtful mind
and melt your cold, cold heart.
Another love before my time
made your heart sad and blue.
And so my heart is paying
now for things I didn't do.
In anger, unkind words are spoke
that make the teardrops fall.
Why can't I free
your doubtful mind
and melt your cold, cold heart.
Had too much milk, Hank?
[laughter]
MAN: No wonder the
Opry fired you, Hank.
Wish we'd get somewheres.
She taking me to the Opry.
We're getting closer.
Sure am tired of
all this driving.
It won't be long now.
Long now-- that's the truth.
Not unless I straighten
myself out real quick.
Now, where was I?
Don't ask me.
[laughter]
That boy's got a bigger
mouth than Huey Long.
[laughter]
You starting to bother me, son.
All right, man.
I was telling you-- we
were talking about women,
and I was telling
you about my wife.
Well, we've become such
good friends here tonight,
I tell you, I'm gonna--
I'm gonna play ya
a flip side now,
do you a little song I wrote
and tell you how I feel,
especially when I
come in off the road
off a summer-long tour.
So boys, can you
give me that now?
[band playing]
MAN: Yee-hee!
OK!
Jackie.
You was too good to
take my ol' bet before.
Oh, no.
Not this one.
Not again.
Well, here's one for you.
[screaming]
[ruckus]
MAN: Get that idiot outta here!
MAN: Well, I-- I
was only having fun.
OK, everybody.
You just settle down now.
Have a good time, you hear me?
Everybody have a good time.
Thanks, Pete.
Half as cool as
the lot'n of us.
Hey, that's OK, buddy.
Happens all the time.
But you know, one
thing you learn when
you-- when you're on
the road all the time
is how to handle a rowdy crowd.
I mean, the only thing
we've thought to do
was to try out-rowdy
them your own self.
[cheering]
This here's a song
I always found
to be about the
best out-rowdiest
that I ever did write.
I want to do it
for you right now.
Come on, boys.
[band playing]
[SINGING] Oh, goodbye, Joe.
We gotta go, me oh my oh.
Oh, me gotta go pole the
pirogue down the bayou.
Oh, my Yvonne, the
sweetest one, me oh my oh.
Hey, son of a gun, we
having fun down the bayou.
Well, jambalaya and a crawfish
pie and the file gumbo,
because tonight I'm gonna
see my chere amie, oh.
Oh, pick guitar, fill
fruit jar, and be gay, oh.
Hey, son of a gun, we having
fun down on the bayou.
Well, Thibodaux to Fontaineaux,
the place is buzzing.
Kinfolk come to see
Yvonne by the dozen.
Well, they're dressed in style.
They go hog wild, me oh my oh.
Hey, son of a gun, we having
fun down on the bayou.
Well, jambalaya and a crawfish
pie and the file gumbo,
cause tonight I'm gonna
see my chere amie, oh.
Oh, pick guitar, fill
fruit jar, and be gay, oh.
Hey, son of a gun, we having
fun down on the bayou.
Let it go, everybody!
[fiddle solo]
Well, I'll settle down far
from town, buy me a pirogue.
I'm gonna catch all the doggone
fish in the doggone bayou.
I'll swap my mo to buy my
Yvonne what she need, oh.
Hey, son of a gun, we having
fun down on the bayou.
Well, jambalaya, crawfish
pie, and the file gumbo
cause tonight I'm gonna
see my chere amie, oh.
Oh, pick guitar, fill
fruit jar, and be gay, oh.
Hey, son of a gun, we
having fun on the bayou.
[cheering, applause]
Thank you.
Thank you.
All right, thank you.
Phew!
Wasn't that something, boy?
Thank you.
Oh, thank you.
[whistling]
Oh, thank you so much.
Really appreciate that.
You know, that's
about the closest
that I ever come to writing what
y'all could call a Cajun song.
I always liked that
kind of Cajun music.
Every time we're
playing down there,
Louisiana or thereabouts.
Now, I was kind of worried
at first at them Cajuns.
They might not like it, but they
seemed to take to it right off.
Hell, the first time we ever
played up in Baton Rouge,
they was throwing $20 bills
right up on the stage.
It's true.
Of course, that ain't nothing
like a real Cajun two step.
I mean, that's the
kind where, you know,
the music gets a
hold on your feet
and there ain't nothing
you can do about it.
I'm telling you.
But I mean, music ain't meant
to be talked about, right?
So come on, boys.
Let's give this
here crowd a listen
to what a real old-fashioned
Cajun two-step is like.
We'll let her fly.
[music playing]
Come on up here
and dance for us.
Come on.
What'd you stop playing for?
Come on?
St-- I got-- I got some
real good dancers here.
Come on.
Strike up and play.
Let's go.
[music starting back up]
[hollering]
[music stops, people gasp]
[groans] Oh, I thought--
there's got to be lights
up ahead there somewheres.
Rest.
That's right.
[exhales]
I'm sure we're lost.
[applause]
You know, sometimes I
figure, being on the road
all the time, playing these
one-nighters week after week,
you know, that's
about as close to hell
as you can get to on this earth.
Well, maybe this
way, the good Lord'll
figure I already done my time
and send me straight to heaven.
[laughter]
Oh, it might seem funny
to you that a man that's
lived the sort of
life I've lived
should be talking about heaven
when all I really have got
a right to talk about is hell.
But you know, somewheres along
the road, ol' Luke the drifter,
he got religion.
Yes, sir, I mean--
there ain't that many
things in this life
that I am positive
about, but I know
as sure as I'm standing
right here that there's
a God out there somewheres.
[crowd murmuring agreement]
Because I mean, this can't
be all there is to it, if it
all ends up in a pine box.
See, when I was
just a little boy,
my mama used to take me to
revival meetings every Sunday.
Well, she used to play the organ
up at the Mount Olive Church.
And well, I used to
sing in the choir.
But the thing I'd
mostly like to do
would be to listen to them
gospel preachers every Sunday
morning, because
they could preach
the gospel so's their words
would make your blood run cold.
I can still hear the voice
of them preachers calling
out to me, talking about Jesus.
Right now, my friends, I
want to tell you about Jesus.
I want to tell you
about Jesus Christ.
I want to tell you about
Jesus Christ the savior.
And I want to tell
you about Jesus
Christ, the savior of mankind.
Hallelujah!
And I want to tell
you about Jesus Christ
the savior of mankind
who lived on this earth.
Jesus Christ, the savior of
mankind who lived on this earth
and died on the cross.
Hallelujah, brother!
MAN: Amen!
I want to tell you about Jesus
Christ, the savior of mankind
who lived on this earth
and died on the cross
for you and your sins.
WOMAN: Praise Jesus!
Tell them, Hank.
And I want to tell you about
the burning fire of hell--
the burning fire of hell that
awaits for you and you and you,
yes, and you and you
unless you repent.
WOMAN: Praise you, Jesus.
HANK WILLIAMS: Unless
you repent right now.
Amen.
Right now, on your hands and
your knees begging forgiveness.
Hallelujah.
HANK WILLIAMS: Forgiveness for
your miserable sins-- to what
I'm telling you about is pain--
WOMAN: Amen.
HANK WILLIAMS: Pain and
sorrow until the end of time.
WOMAN: I love you,
Brother Williams.
HANK WILLIAMS: And I want
to tell you about joy--
joy, happiness, tears
of relief when you rush
into the arms of your savior.
Hallelujah!
When your rush from
the pain, and the sorrow,
and the darkness into
the blinding light,
the blinding light of heaven--
can you imagine it?
Oh, yes!
HANK WILLIAMS: Can
you see the light?
Yes!
HANK WILLIAMS: Can you see the
light standing right there?
Oh, yes!
MAN: Bless you, Hank.
A light infinitely
more powerful
than the blinding blaze of the
sun-- a beacon calling for you.
WOMAN: Hallelujah!
HANK WILLIAMS: The lights
streaming from the bleeding
hands of Jesus.
Oh, Lord!
From the bleeding
hands of Jesus Christ,
the savior of mankind
who lived on this earth
and died on the cross for
you and your miserable sins.
WOMAN: Praise Jesus.
[SINGING] I wandered, so
aimless, life filled with sin.
And I wouldn't let
my dear savior in.
[band joining]
And then Jesus came like
a stranger in the night.
Praise the Lord,
I saw the light.
Oh, I My the light,
I saw the light.
No more darkness, no more night.
Now, I'm so happy,
no sorrow in sight.
Praise the Lord,
I saw the light.
Well, just like a blind
man, I wandered along.
And worries and fears
I claimed for my own.
And then like a blind man
that God gave back his sight,
praise the Lord,
I saw the light.
Hey, I saw the light.
I saw the light.
No more darkness, no more night.
Now I'm so happy,
no sorrow in sight.
Praise the Lord,
I saw the light.
Well, I was a fool
to wander and stray,
cause straight is the
gate and narrow's the way.
And now I have traded
the wrong for the right.
Praise the Lord,
I saw the light.
I saw the light.
I saw the light.
No more darkness, no more night.
Now I'm so happy,
no sorrow in sight.
Praise the Lord,
I saw the light.
Oh, maybe there ain't no light.
I tried.
Lord knows how hard
I tried to believe.
And you know, some mornings, I
wake up, and it's almost there.
MUSIC - HANK WILLIAMS, "I'M
SO LONESOME I COULD CRY"
Hear that lonesome whippoorwill.
He sounds too blue to fly.
That midnight train
is whining low.
I'm so lonesome I could cry.
The silence of a falling
star lights up a purple sky.
And as I wonder where you are,
I'm so lonesome I could cry.
Did you ever see a robin weep
when leaves begin to die?
That means he's lost
the will to live.
I'm so lonesome I could cry.
Lord, must I go on remembered?
Must they look still
be turned away from me?
Each day brings a fresh load of
care, fresh misery to my heart.
Must I ever be the
sport of my enemies?
Look upon me, oh, Lord, my God.
Listen to me.
Give light to these eyes
before they close in death.
Do not let my enemies
claim the mastery,
and my persecutors
triumph over my fall.
I cast myself on thy mercy.
[WHISPERING] And
I saw the light.
I saw the light.
But you know, I tried so hard to
give up looking for that light.
I just can't.
That's all.
I just can't.
[band playing quietly]
You'll meet many just like
me along life's busy street
with shoulders stooped and
heads bowed low and eyes
that stare in defeat.
They're souls that live within
the past, where sorrow plays
all parts, and a living
death is all that's
left to men with broken hearts.
Life sometimes can be
so cruel that a heart
will break with it.
Lord, why must these living dead
know pain with every breath?
Some lose faith in love and life
when sorrow shoots her darts.
And with hope all
gone, they walk alone,
these man with broken hearts.
Now, you've never walked
in that man's shoes
or seen things through
his eyes, or stood
and watched with helpless hands
while the heart inside you
dies.
Some were paupers,
some were kings,
some were masters of the arts.
But in their shame,
they're all the same,
these men with broken hearts.
And even sleep brings no
relief to all these men
who curse their birth.
They have no dreams of
happiness in heaven or on earth.
Well, how can a man have
faith in God when faith in man
departs?
And to those who weep,
death comes cheap,
these men with broken hearts.
Well, that's all.
I don't want else to say, except
good night and God bless you.
Say a prayer for me.
Happy New Year's, everybody.
[bell tolling in distance]
MUSIC - HANK WILLIAMS,
"SETTING THE WOODS ON FIRE"
Comb your hair and
paint and powder.
You act proud, and
I'll act prouder.
You sing loud, and
I'll sing louder.
Tonight we're setting
the woods on fire.
You're my gal and
I'm your feller.
Dress up in your
frock of yeller.
I'll look swell, but
you'll look sweller,
setting the woods on fire.
We'll take in all
the honky tonks.
Tonight, we're having fun.
We'll show the folks a brand new
dance that never has been done.
I don't care who
thinks we're silly.
You'll be Daffy.
I'll be Dilly.
We'll order up two
bowls of chili,
setting the woods on fire.
I'll gas my hot rod stoker.
We'll get hotter than a poker.
You'll be broke,
but I'll be broker.
Tonight, we're setting
the woods on fire.
We'll sit close to one
another, up one street
and down the other.
Will we have a
time, oh, brother,
setting the woods on fire.
We'll put aside a little
time to fix a flat or two.
My ties and tubes
are doing fine,
but the air is showing through.
I don't care who
thinks we're silly.
You be Daffy.
I'll be Dilly.
We'll order up two
bowls of chili,
setting the woods on fire.
I'll gas up my hot rod stoker.
We'll be hotter than a poker.
You'll be broke,
but I'll be broker.
Tonight, we're setting
the woods on fire.
We'll sit close to one
another, up one street
and down the other.
Will we have a
time, oh, brother,
setting the woods on fire.
We'll put aside a little
time to fix a flat or two.
My ties and tubes
are doing fine,
but the air is showing through.
You clap hands and
I'll start bowing.
We'll do all the law's allowing.
Tomorrow, I'll be
right back plowing,
setting the woods on fire.