The One Song I Know...

Someone once asked Ulysses S. Grant if he knew anything about music. “I know two tunes,” he replied, “One is Yankee Doodle, and the other isn’t.”

I’m much the same way. But I firmly believe that everyone should learn the lines to at least one tune. You need something to hum, whistle, or belt out, as you find yourself wandering life’s path.

One song, that you can honestly say, “I know by heart”. I have mine. I sing it in the shower, the car, when I need to sit and think, or as I stare up at the stars. It is a sad song, yet, one of hope.

Before the days of the World Wide Web, few resources of information were available. One was the library, and the other was the phone book. This song is from a by-gone era.

Tulsa Telephone Book

Have you read any good telephone books lately?
If you ain't then let me recommend one,
I've already read that Tulsa telephone book through thirteen times.
If you don't know any last names it ain't much fun.

Readin' that Tulsa telephone book, can drive a guy insane
Especially if that girl you're lookin' for has no last name
I gotta find her and tell her, I don't want our love to end
So I'm readin' that Tulsa telephone book again

Well, I was in Tulsa and didn't have anything goin'
She lived in Tulsa and didn't have anything on
She said, "My name is Shirley," and I said, "My name is T."
I woke up the next mornin' and she was gone

All of the Tulsa operators know my voice now
And they gotta know how long I've been alone
If you meet a girl named Shirley with some ribbons in her hair
Would you tell her that she's wanted on the phone

Readin' that Tulsa telephone book, can drive a guy insane
Especially if that girl you're lookin' for has no last name
I gotta find her and tell her, I don't want our love to end
So I'm readin' that Tulsa telephone book again
I'm readin' that Tulsa telephone book again

Tom T. Hall, Tulsa Telephone Book.

I always exchange the name of “T” with Shawn. It rhymes. I also replace the name of “Shirley” with Jenny. That’s just me. What song/s do you know by heart?

Doc.