Well,
I left Kentucky back in 49
and I went to Detroit
working on assembly lines
and the first year they had me
putting wheels on Cadillacs
and every day I'd watch them
beauties roll by
and sometimes I'd just hang
my head and cry
because I always wanted me one that was long
and black well one day i devised myself a plan
that should be the envy of
most any man
because i sneak it out of there
in a lunchbox in my hand
and now of course getting caught
meant getting fired
but i figured i'd have it all
by the time i retired
and i'd have me a car
worth at least a hundred grand
i'd get it one piece at a time
it would cost me a dime
you know it's me
when I came through your town
I'm gonna ride around in style
I'm gonna drive everybody wild
because I'll have the only
one there is around
So the very next day
when I punched in
with my big lunch box
and with help from my friends
I left that day with a lunch
box full of gears
I've never considered myself a thief
but GM wouldn't miss
just one little piece
and especially if I strung
it out over several years.
Well, the first day I got me a fuel pump,
and the next day I got me an
engine in the trunk,
and then I got me a transmission
and all that chrome.
And the little things I could get in
the big lunch box,
like nuts and bolts and all
the four shocks,
but the big stuff I snuck out
in my buddy's mobile home.
Now, up to now, my plan went all right
until we tried to put it all together one night,
and that's when we noticed
that something was
definitely they were on.
You see the transmission was a 1953
and the motor turned out to be a 73
and when we tried to put in the bolts
all the holes were gone.
So we drilled it out and that wouldn't fit
an d then we took a little bit of this
a little bit of that made an adapter kit
and when the engine running
just like an old song.
Of course the headlights
they were another side
and we had two on the
left and one on the right
and when we pulled out
the switch all three came on
and the back end looked kind of funny too
but we put it together
when we got through
well that's when we noticed
that we only had one tail fin
and about that time
my buddy's wife came out
and I could see she had her doubts
and she said hey
David Allen take me for a spin
so we drove uptown just to get the tags
and I headed her right down
to the main drag
because I could hear everybody laughing
for blocks around.
But up there at the courthouse
they weren't laughing, buddy,
because they had to type it up
and it took their whole staff
and when they got through the title
weighed about 60 pounds.
I got in one piece at a time
and it didn't cost me a dime
and you don't know it's me
when I come through your town.
I'm gonna ride around in style,
I'm gonna drive everybody wild,
Cause I'll have the only
one there is around
Yeah, hey, uh, Big Man Cash,
this is old
Mysterious Rhinestone Cowboy here
Yeah, I've got that psychedelic Cadillac
that you had made a few years ago
Yeah, you remember that one,
picked it up one piece at a time
What's that?
Oh yeah, I know I had trouble
getting it retitled
in Tennessee here too
They asked me what year it was,
I said, well, it's a 49, 59, 51, 52, 53,
54, 55, 57, 58, 59 automobile.
It's a 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66,
I don't know, buddy,
but I know it's a Cadillac.
What?
Well, just give me the title, man.
I bought it from Johnny Cash,
I'm telling you.
Johnny Cash, C -A -S -H,
you know, the man in black?
That's right, David Allen Coe,
that's my name, yes sir.
Yes, I did sing that song,
the perfect country song.
What? Why didn't I sing,
I Walked the Line?
I did sing, I Walked the Line.
Well, by the Alvin.
Oh.
The car won't start anyway.