Cash on the Barrelhead (Louvin/Louvin)

from Me & Paul by Jon Byrd

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about

“Cash on the Barrelhead” is a cover of the Louvin Brothers song, which Byrd shortened so that the melody and words were even more prominent.
“This is my fifth record and I’ve never recorded a Louvin Brothers song! The production and Paul’s playing on this one make it sound like an antique.”

lyrics

Cash on the Barrelhead - (Louvin/Louvin)
Got in a little trouble down at the county seat
Lord, they put me in the jail house for loafin' on the street
When the judge heard the verdict I’s a guilty man
He said, “45 dollars or 30 days in the can.”

"That’d be cash on the barrelhead, son.
You can take your choice, you're 21.
No money down, no credit plan.
No time to chase you ‘cause I'm a busy man.”

Found a telephone number on a laundry slip
I had a good-hearted jailor with a 6-gun hip
He let me call long-distance. She said, "Number, please.”
And no sooner than I told her she shouted out at me

"That’d be cash on the barrelhead, son.
Not part, not half, but the entire sum.
No money down, no credit plan.
'Cause a little bird tells me you're a travelin' man.”

30 days in the jail house, 4 days on the road
I was feelin' mighty hungry, my feet, a heavy load
Saw a Greyhound comin' stuck up my thumb
Just as I’s bein’ seated the driver caught my arm

"That’d be cash on the barrelhead, son.
This old gray dog gets paid to run.
When the engine stops lord, the wheels won’t roll.
You give me cash on the barrelhead
I’ll take you down the road.”

credits

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

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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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