THE YEAR CLAYTON DELANEY DIED by Tom T. Hall
I remember the year that Clayton Delaney died.
They said for the last two weeks that he suffered and cried.
It made a big impression on me, although I was a barefoot kid.
They said he got religion at the end and I’m glad that he did.
Clayton was the best guitar picker in our town;
I thought he was a hero and I used to follow Clayton around.
I often wondered why Clayton, who seemed so good to me
Never took his guitar and made it down in Tenn-o-see.
Well, Daddy said he drank a lot, but I could never understand;
I knew he used to pick up in Ohio with a five-piece band.
Clayton used to tell me, "Son, you better put that old guitar away;
There ain’t no money in it, it’ll lead you to an early grave."
I guess if I’d admit it, Clayton taught me how to drink booze.
I can see him half-stoned, a-pickin’ out the Lovesick Blues.
When Clayton died, I made him a promise I was gonna carry on somehow.
I’d give a hundred dollars if he could only see me now
I remember the year that Clayton Delaney died:
Nobody ever knew it but I went out in the woods and I cried.
Well, I know there’s a lotta big preachers that know a lot more than I do,
But it could be that the good Lord likes a little pickin’ too.
I've known several Claytons in my time, by other names. This is how I feel about them all. One, by the way, was named "Leona".
Yeah, I remember the year that Clayton Delaney died