Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire The Greatest Single Lyric of Country Music?

Some men look for diamonds
Some men look for gold
I'm just trying to find myself
Before I get too old.

"It's such a pretty world, today..."

That famous day in history the men of the 7th Cavalry went riding on
And from the rear, a voice was heard
A brave young man with a trembling word rang loud and clear
"What the...am I doin' here?"

I'm lost in the ozone again

Everybody had a favorite, and some have several. Many, many good ones, too.

But, like every “best” thread, there ain’t just *one*.

Elvin Bishop in “Gotta put on my travelin’ shoes”

Gonna get Hank Aaron's baseball bat
And tenderize her head

A classic of course is, “I’m sick and tired of waking up sick and tired”.

Third rate romance, low rent rendezvous

I don't like to brag,
But we're kinda proud of that ragged old flag

When I was just a baby my mama told me
"Son, always be a good boy, don't ever play with guns"
But I shot a man in Reno just to watch him die
When I hear that whistle blowing, I hang my head and cry

Amarillo by morning, up from San Antone
Everything that I've got is just what I've got on
I ain't got a dime, but what I got is mine
I ain't rich, but Lord I'm free...

This ain’t my first rodeo, ain’t the first time this ole Cowboy been throwed

Take this job and shove it.

Hard to narrow it down, but, "I'm sitting at home, digging up bones, exhuming things that's better left alone" (Randy Travis) would be in the running.

"You're the reason our kids are ugly" (Conway & Lorretta) probably would be too.

This whole song (CW McCall) is full of them, but I like this part the best..

"Sign says clearance to the twelve foot line
But the chickens was stacked to thirteen nine
Well, we shot that tunnel at a hundred and ten
Like gas through a funnel and eggs through a hen
We took that top row of chickens off slicker than the scum off a Louisiana swamp"

Also:

Hank Jr, "I said, Well Hoss, you better get you some corks 'cause your gonna have to plug up a few holes."
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Or, I know Warren Zevon did it originally, but from Hank Jr, "Send lawyers, guns, and money"
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Hank Jr again, "I'd like to spit some Beech Nut in that dude's eyes, then shoot him with my .45"
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Sawyer Brown..

"She went home when she found out
Said, "Pack your bags
I want you out"
Her boyfriend thought
She was talking jive
'til he saw her standing
With a .45
A .45's quicker than 409
Betty cleaned house
For the very last time
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Ray Stevens (Hugo The Human Cannon Ball)

"There was Hugo,
And there was Hugo,
There was Hugo all over the place!"

Ain't nothing in this world worth a solitary dime cept "old dogs, children and watermelon wine"
Tom T. Hall

There's a tear in my beer.

This whole Gary Allan song is great, but I'll just pick out a portion..

"Well I know one day, I'll give you away
And I'm gonna stand there and smile
And when I get home, and I'm all alone
Well, I'll sit in your room for a while
Well I didn't cry when Old Yeller died
At least not in front of my friends
But when tough little boys grow up to be dads
They turn into big babies again."

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Joe Diffie
"You can set my truck on fire and roll it down a hill
And I still wouldn't trade it for a Coupe De Ville
I got an eight-foot bed that never has to be made
You know, if it weren't for trucks we wouldn't have tailgates
I met all my wives in traffic jams
There's just something women like about a pickup man"

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BJ Thomas

"Hey, won't you play, another somebody done somebody wrong song."

Yes, but take it a step further :

“I’d love to spit some Beech-Nut in that dude's eyes
And shoot him with my old .45“

"I'm leavin' even if I have to crawl"

"The devil made me do it the first time, the second time I done it on my own"

Both are Waylonisms courtesy of Billy Joe Shaver.