Ballad of Jr. and Lloyd (James Kelly)

from Me & Paul by Jon Byrd

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about

“Ballad of Jr. and Lloyd” was written by Byrd’s long-time best pal, James Kelly in Atlanta, GA.
“My coming of age was playing and recording country music with James and his band, Slim Chance and the Convicts. This song speaks to a friendship that you’re lucky to find once in a whole lifetime.”

lyrics

Ballad of Jr. & Lloyd (James Kelly)
Jr. & Lloyd were good buddies
They ran a little business up the hill
Jr. & Lloyd made lots of money
Sellin’ homemade whisky from a still

Jr. he was a family man
Lloyd was loyal to none
Jr. only did it for the money
Lloyd said he did it for the fun

BR: They never said a word about the danger
They never showed a single ounce of fear
Deep inside they both had felt the presence
Of a dark cloud that lingered so near

Lloyd had a recipe for moonshine
Jr. had a way with a car
Lloyd drove that suped-up Chrysler thru those border towns
Jr. kept it runnin’ fast and far

A 1,000 lbs. of tin and copper tubing
Kept the whiskey drippin’ night & day
4,000 thousand lbs. of bondo, steel, and rubber
Delivered mountain dew the fastest way

BR: One night those Revenuers lucky-guessed Lloyd’s secret route
And set the roadblock up around the bend
Jr. saw the ball of fire and reached for Flossy’s hand
And shed a farewell tear from his best friend

Now Jr. makes a livin’ fixin’ up those real fast cars
Watching them go ‘round and ‘round and ‘round
He wishes Lloyd was out there he’d be runnin’ w/the best
Ol’ Lloyd would rather die than let you down

Jr. & Lloyd were good buddies
Ran a little business up the hill
Jr. & Lloyd made lots of money
Sellin’ homemade whisky from a still

credits

from Me & Paul, released July 16, 2021
Jon Byrd: Vocals/Guitar
Paul Niehaus: Pedal Steel
Joe McMahan: Producer

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about

Jon Byrd Nashville, Tennessee

MOJO proclaimed BYRD'S AUTO PARTS “Americana the way it was and the way it should be.” MAVERICK said Byrd’s DOWN AT THE WELL OF WISHES “spellbinding, showcasing a true genius at work.” R2 described ROUTE 41 as “underpinned by sublime Country picking” Byrd's latest DIRTY OL' RIVER? NPR says: “Jon Byrd is subtly refining the folk-country singer-songwriter template.” — Jewly Hight, BEST OF 2017 ... more

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