Henry Rifle Forums

Its kind of a funny thing. Tom T Hall recorded a song "Old Dogs, Children, and Watermelon Wine" in 1972. I was a young gun then ,runnin and gunnin, but the song struck me.

As time moved on, the lyrics of that song have stuck with me, and I have found them to be time tested and true. In these times of turmoil, as I sit back and watch, I fall back on those lyrics and they are more meaningful today then in 1972.

As I sit here writing, instead of Watermelon Wine, I am sipping on my Jameson with my German Short hair at my feet and my grandson sitting on the couch, and couldn't help but pause for a moment and reflect how true those lyrics are.

I know a lot of us folks are in our 60s Plus. Post your thoughts folks.

Hall Tom T - Old Dogs, Children And Watermelon Wine

"How old do you think I am?", he said
I said, "Well, I didn't know", he said, "I turned 65 about 11 months ago"
I was sittin' in Miami pourin' blended whiskey down
When this old gray Black gentleman was cleanin' up the lounge

There wasn't anyone around 'cept this old man and me
The guy who ran the bar was watchin' "Ironsides" on TV
Uninvited, he sat down and opened up his mind
On old dogs and children and watermelon wine

"Ever had a drink of watermelon wine?", he asked
He told me all about it, though I didn't answer back
"Ain't but three things in this world that's worth a solitary dime
But old dogs and children and watermelon wine"

He said, "Women think about they-selves, when menfolk ain't around
And friends are hard to find when they discover that you're down"
He said, "I tried it all when I was young and in my natural prime
Now it's old dogs and children and watermelon wine"

"Old dogs care about you even when you make mistakes
God bless little children while they're still too young to hate"
When he moved away I found my pen and copied down that line
'Bout old dogs and children and watermelon wine

I had to catch a plane up to Atlanta that next day
As I left for my room I saw him pickin' up my change
That night I dreamed in peaceful sleep of shady summertime
Of old dogs and children and watermelon wine

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BqV9NZSGIa4

One of my very favorites. Thank you. Was good to hear that song again. It's been awhile since we had good country music.

Tom T Hall the story teller. Great song and I remember it well. I once spent some time out clearing some land with a couple of guys older than I. There favorite was Merle Haggard and Charlie Pride. To this day some Merle and Charlie still make me think about those guys.

I have the Tom T CD with that song and some others. My favorite.

Salute to a Switchblade.

It is a FINE song. Thanks for sharing