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 goin' got too bad to ease his misery
Now papa played the dobro this way and he'd go

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

[ dobro ]
Well now that papa's gone away it's hanging by the flue
The top of it is busted and the strings are rusty too
It will never sound the way it did when it was new
When papa played the dobro this way and he'd go

[ dobro ]
And he'd go pam pam