Molly and the Old Man

Cabin in the hollow, tea kettle on the cookstove
And pickin' on the Cluck Old Hen, Molly and the old man

First and only daughter, and when God called her
Mom was 27, but two can make a good band

How her blue eyes sparkled as his bootheel marked the time
Fiddle tunes on the banjo, tell me what else sounds so fine
If you gotta go, just make sure you leave a song behind

Southern town, 15 years old, football was the main show
But us pickers used to gather in a cabin in the hollow

His better days behind him, he sat sippin’ on the Old Crow
While his darling Molly played the hell out of the banjo

Same town, a whole new world, now it's me and her and the blue-eyed girl
And life is like the old songs, it never drops the tempo

Now his cabin's fallen, but the memory's a mansion
And you can't get back a loved one, but you can get the spirit dancin'

Now her blue eyes sparkle as the baby claps in time
Fiddle tunes on the banjo, tell me what else sounds so fine
If you gotta go, just make sure you leave a song behind

Well, I’m resining up the bow, and it's Molly on the banjo
And we're pickin' on the Cluck Old Hen, Molly and this old man
And it sounds just like back then, Molly and the old man

Cluck old hen, cluck and sing
Ain't laid an egg since way last spring
Cluck old hen, cluck and squall
Ain’t laid an egg since way last fall