[Verse]
My Papa was a hobo when they delivered me
We didn't have a doctor 'cause he couldn't pay the fee
But when the going got too bad to ease his misery
Papa played the dobro this a-way and he'd go

[Verse]
When company would come around, he kept the dobro hid
He knew he couldn't play the way the other players did
Why the guitar's resonator was a gallon-bucket lid
But Papa played the dobro this way and he'd go

[Verse]
Well now that Papa's gone away, it's hanging by the flue
The top of it's rusted and the strings are rusty too
It won't ever sound the way that it did when it was new
When Papa played the dobro this a-way and he'd go