I'd Rather Be A-Pickin' Songtext
von Moe Bandy & Joe Stampley

Daddy farms the river bottom, mama milks the cows
Sister washes dirty dishes, brother runs the plow
Uncle Billy coon-huntin′, cousin Willie drunk
Granny runs the washboard sittin' on a stump

Daddy comin′ home with a sack of turnip greens
Dirt on his hands and holes in his jeans
And I'm the only one ain't doin′ any good
Pickin′ on a guitar'stead of choppin′ wood

They all say I'm no accountant worth a pair of shorts
Pickin′ on a rooftop, pickin' on a porch
A country boy pickin′ isn't doin' what he should
I′d rather be a-pickin′ than a-choppin' that wood

Willie′s on the pond in a leaky john boat
Ned's in the outhouse learnin′ how to smoke
Cousin Homer chewin' on a day′s work plug
Gettin' up the courage just to take another slug


Willie's soakin′ wet ′cause the boat don't float
Brother stopped the plow, said the mule done broke
Grandpa′s got some catfish a-hangin' on a string
Sister′s in the holler gettin' water from the spring

They all say I′m no accountant worth a pair of shorts
Pickin' on a rooftop, pickin' on a porch
A country boy pickin′ isn′t doin' what he should
I′d rather be a-pickin' than a-choppin′ that wood

Mama's cookin′ supper on a big wood stove
Sister's makin' biscuits out of old sog dough
Big channel cat just a-cookin′ in the grease
Make me hungry, make me wanna eat

They all say I′m no accountant worth a pair of shorts
Pickin' on a rooftop, pickin′ on a porch
A country boy pickin' isn′t doin' what he should
I′d rather be a-pickin' than a-choppin' that wood

A country boy pickin′ isn′t doin' what he should
I′d rather be a-pickin' than a-choppin′ that wood