The Ballad Of Bill Crump - Tom T. Hall

Now I hear a lot of tall stories since my business is writin' songs

And every now and then if you listen real close

A good true one comes along

And this is the story of old Bill Crump from the North Carolina Hills

Nat Winston of Nashville knew this man real well

He built the church and he built the pews

He built the cradles and the furniture for the schools

Folks in Avery County say that he was better than good

Probably one of the reasons the Lord made wood

Now men have faults and Bill’s fault was

He loved to sip that corn

He lived ninety some years that way

Don’t guess it was hurtin' him none

You could take him a picture from a catalog

He could build anything he’d see

He could make anything

That you could make out of the tree

One day Bill said, Mama I’m gettin' old

I want you to measure me good

I’m goin' out to that wood pile

And get myself some wood

And I’m gonna make me a coffin

I want it to fit me fine

The way I figure it

I’ve got about enough time

Now Bill worked on that coffin

Like he was gonna be there awhile

He’d show the folks and rub that wood

And then stand back and smile

He used that body for ninety some years

Figured it had treated him good

And when he left it

He put it away in some real fine wood

Oh, right now old Bill’s sleepin'

In the hills of North Caroline

In his homemade coffin

Handrubbed walnut velvet lined

Now most folks use their heads and hands

And just think of themselves

His body’s there

But his spirit’s someplace else

He built the church and he built the pews