The Ballad of Wayne Earl Jones

A month before my Grandfather's 80th Birthday I sat down at the kitchen table and what poured out of me over the next few hours was pretty astounding. Our relationship had not be easy, he was authoritarian and as my mother's father (with no other grandfather in my life for balance) commanded his share of respect. On the other hand, when you listened to him and did what he asked, he was a gentle men with a good soul and very generous. I had never known about his life until I talked to my mother just before I wrote this song and she told me a lot about how he grew up and his trajectory up until the point I was there and able to remember the way our lives intertwined. He was quite a man, he would only live another 4 years after this birthday, plagued by strokes but lucky to have a woman who cared for him and took care of him throughout it all, my step-grandmother, Rubena.

Ballad of Wayne Earl Jones – Douglas W. Fielder

[G] Born in aught six in [C] Kentucky,
he [D] grew up between the two [G] wars.
[F] The best of times and the [Em] worst of times,
he [F] opened and closed many [D] doors.

But [G] life it can never be [C] easy
for [D] those who want only the [G] best.
And [F] nothing is ever quite [Em] good enough,
when [F] perfection is part of the [D] quest.

[C] Pappy he came from [G] Paducah.
A [F] butcher, a father, a [D] son.
[F] K.C. via Memphis, his [C] family in tow,
he [F] wanted to be number [G] one.

[G] Dotty and mom were just [C] babies,
when they [D] moved to Memphis, Tenne [G] ssee.
Who [F] could have known that Black [Em] Tuesday would come
and [F] force this country to her [D] knees.

But [G] Wayne he refused to be [C] daunted,
for [D] ten years he struggled you [G] see.
In [F] forty if paid off, they [Em] made him a boss,
and [F] moved him to live in [D] K.C.

[C] Pappy he came from [G] Paducah.
A [F] butcher, a father, a [D] son.
He'd [F] come a long way, as I've [Em] told you today,
but his [F] legend had only [D] begun.

Wayne he could never be happy,
to be working for Kroger you see.
Struck out on his own in 1944,
and Allens restaurant came to be.

Not long after mom married daddy,
the first of his legacy came.
Of all of the grandkids, the first one to live
would inherit a part of his name.

Pappy he came from Paducah.
As proud a man as could be.
Now all generations of Jones, Fielder, Lewellyn.
Are part of a family tree.

Now good time they always bring bad times.
You must learn to take them in stride.
In sixty a piece of his world moved away,
I'm sure of how he must have cried.

But families weren't meant to be broken,
and one by one most have returned.
Today we are all here to celebrate life,
by now there is one thing we've learned.

Pappy he came from Paducah.
Without him we wouldn't be here.
Worked hard as he could just to keep us alive.
The one thing he always held dear.

His kids, grand kids, great grandchildren.
Now gather to be by his side.
But the most precious presents have been given to us,
he gave each of us some of his pride

So nothing can every repay him,
and he wouldn't accept one thin dime.
Cause you can't repay love with your silver or gold,
you can only repay it in kind.

Pappy he came from Paducah.
Kentucky is still in his bones.
The Ohio rivers a memory now.
To the man that they named Wayne Earl Jones.

Pappy I just want to tell you.
That I love you with all of my heart.
I'm sorry the distance between us is there,
but it's just miles that keeps us apart.

And Pappy I'll never forget you.
A portrait is etched in my soul.
Of a man and a boy, who both sit by a lake.
They are sharing the same fishing pole.