The song “Honky-Tonk Man” was written by Johnny Horton, Tillman Franks and Howard Hausey, and recorded for the first time by Johnny Horton on 11 January 1956, released as a single in March of the same year. It reached #9 on the U.S. country singles charts. In its 1961 reissue it reached #11 , also on the U.S. country singles charts.
The lyrics of the song are narrated in the first-person (“I’m a honky-tonk man”), describing a life of drinking and dancing with young women in honky-tonk bars; the account suggests a compulsive or addictive quality to the protagonist’s lifestyle (“I can’t seem to stop”). The chorus of the song juxtaposes the narrator’s obsessive and exuberant behaviour with what happens when his “money’s all gone” (“I’m on the telephone callin’: ‘hey hey mama, can your daddy come home?’”)
Some Versions:
Johnny Horton April 5, 1956
Carl Smith July 1958
Conway Twitty January 24, 1966
Del Reeves April 1969
Ray Sanders October 1969
Charlie Feathers 1976
Moe Bandy & Joe Stampley 1979
Red Knuckles & the Trailblazers 1982
Dwight Yoakam April 12, 1986
Gordon Terry 1995
And many, more versions …
Johnny Horton – Honky tonk man Lyrics
I’m a honky tonk man and I can’t seem to stop
I love to give the girls a whirl to the music of an old jukebox
But when my money’s all gone, I’m on the telephone
Callin’, “Hey moma, can your daddy come home?”
I’m livin’ fast and dangerously
But I’ve got plenty of company
When the moon comes up and the sun goes down
That’s when I wanna see the lights of town
‘Cause I’m a honky tonk man and I can’t seem to stop
I love to give the girls a whirl to the music of an old jukebox
But when my money’s all gone, I’m on the telephone
Callin’, “Hey moma, can your daddy come home?”
I’m a honky tonk man and I can’t seem to stop
I love to give the girls a whirl to the music of an old jukebox
But when my money’s all gone, I’m on the telephone
Callin’, “Hey moma can your daddy come home?”
It takes a purdy little gal and a jug of wine
That’s what it takes to make a honky tonk mind
With the jukebox a moanin’ a honky tonk sound
That’s when I wanna lay my money down
‘Cause I’m a honky tonk man and I can’t seem to stop
I love to give the girls a whirl to the music of an old jukebox
But when my money’s all gone, I’m on the telephone
Callin’, “Hey moma, can your daddy come home?”
, describing a life of drinking and dancing with young women in honky-tonk bars; the account suggests a compulsive or addictive quality to the protagonist’s lifestyle (“I can’t seem to stop”). The chorus of the song juxtaposes the narrator’s obsessive and exuberant behaviour with what happens when his “money’s all gone” (“I’m on the telephone callin’: ‘hey hey mama, can your daddy come home?’”)Some Versions:Johnny Horton April 5, 1956Carl Smith July 1958Conway Twitty January 24, 1966Jim Ed Brown September 1968Del Reeves April 1969Ray Sanders October 1969Charlie Feathers 1976Moe Bandy & Joe Stampley 1979Red Knuckles & the Trailblazers 1982Dwight Yoakam April 12, 1986Gordon Terry 1995And many, more versions …){kind=link}