Our Street / Tell Me Why Lyrics by The Statler Brothers
The Statler Brothers Lyrics
Our Street / Tell Me Why Lyrics
The Statler Brothers – Our Street / Tell Me Why
(Spoken - Phil Balsley)
This is our street. We did a lot of growin' up right here. I've been kissed, kicked, cussed, and cuddled all in this one block. I've laughed, cried, ran and chased up and down this sidewalk. See that yard over there? I had my arm and my heart broken there. The arm was about ten years before the heart, and didn't hurt near as much. I remember the heart so much better. Now that's where Nancy Clemmer lived. Nancy and I had been in love since we were three years old. Had grown up together… And the winter we turned sixteen, when it came time for the high school Christmas dance. Boy I got excited. I went out rented a tuxedo, bought a boutonniere, a corsage, asked Daddy for the car. Had it washed and all shined up - boy it looked good. I remembered to do everything except one thing. Do you believe I forgot to ask Nancy? So there I stood on her front yard that night and she went to the dance with Eddie Franklin of all people and oh, by the way, ten years before that it was Nancy who broke my arm playing football in that very same yard and Nancy and I go back a long way. We walked to school (fades out)
(Spoken - Don Reid)
Every evening after school, along about the 4th or 5th grade we would all gather over in Jennifer's yard. Girls doing cartwheels and giggling. The boys doing tricks on their bikes and showing off. And we'd always get our heads together though and make big plans for special occasions. It was nearing Halloween and we told each other how we were going to dress and what we were going to be, and decided we'd all go trick or treating together. So ‘bout half a dozen of us took off Halloween night with our bags and costumes down the street. And my dog King, who was used to going everywhere I went, fell right in to go, too. But I didn't want him tagging along that night and I had to scold him pretty hard and almost drag him back to the backyard and close the gate on him. We hadn't gone ten houses down the street when old Blackie, this enormous old German Shepherd that we were all scared to death of, was for some reason loose on Halloween night. He came out from between two houses heading straight toward us. Everybody screamed and took off running except me, and I was so scared I froze. I never did see King but I felt him come in behind me, and he grabbed the old German Shepherd just before the old German Shepherd grabbed me and they went round and round and you couldn't see anything but fur flying I couldn't see the fur for the tears. Ol' Blackie ran home yelping and I grabbed King and hugged him. And We went home and the both of us settled in the front porch and watched the trick-or-treat your common go to mama turned to porch light off instead of was time to go to bed it was the best Halloween I ever had. I wouldn't trade it for all the candy (fades out)
(Spoken – Jimmy Fortune)
Two houses down from the corner, that's where Betty Lee Miller lived. And when I'd take her home at night if we sat in the car for thirty seconds her mama would start blinking the porch light. So we'd always walk up on the porch and the light was on and glaring right in our faces. There was no way I could ever kiss Betty good night without the whole neighborhood watching. So one night I just reached up and twisted the light bulb until it went out. We laughed, kissed, and then I went home. The next day Betty's mother came out, checked the switch and changed the light bulb. A few nights later the same thing happened, and the next day her mother said I don't know what could be happening with these light bulbs and she put a new one in. And this happened about five or six times and of course Betty wasn't about to tell her what was going on and I certainly wasn't. And then I went to pick Betty Lee up one evening and her daddy was on the front porch with a ladder and a tool belt and he was putting in a brand new light fixture. I decided then it was time to either quit turning the light off or quit turning Betty on. Unfortunately, I did both. The next fall she got engaged and moved to New York State (fades out)
(Spoken – Harold Reid)
The sights and sounds of this street will always haunt me. In the wintertime everyone would be out shoveling snow off the sidewalk. In the fall they'd be raking leaves and in the spring and summer mowing the grass or washing the cars. The kids would walk to school together and at three the quiet would be torn apart and the street would come alive again with children's voices and laughter. Daddy's would come home at five and warm lights were in every kitchen window. It was a time when people would walk or ride by and wave and you'd speak whether you knew them or not. A time when people really did go next door and borrow a cup of sugar. A time when sitting on the front porch was a special time of the evening, and boy, people back then could really sit on the front porch. Mama and Daddy in the glider and my sister in the swing and me on the front steps. And on just about any summer evening you could hear Shirley Jean Berrell and Charlotte Thompson across the street singing. They would be in the swing on Charlotte's front porch. Heh, you could hear that it will swing creaking, and I guess they only knew the harmony to one song, but they sang that one every evening. we'd get quiet and listen. That old swing would creak and Shirley Jean and Charlotte were singing. God if only I could be little again!
(Female singers fading into Statlers singing)
Tell me why the stars do shine
Tell me why the ivy twines
Tell me why the ocean's blue
(Don Reid sings) And I will tell you just why I love you
(Statlers sing)
Because God made the stars to shine
Because God made the ivy twine
Because God made the ocean blue
Because God made you, that's why I love you
Because God made the stars to shine
Because God made the ivy twine
Because God made the ocean blue
(Fades to female singers)
Because God made you, that's why I love you
[Thanks to mdhertle for adding these lyrics]
(Spoken - Phil Balsley)
This is our street. We did a lot of growin' up right here. I've been kissed, kicked, cussed, and cuddled all in this one block. I've laughed, cried, ran and chased up and down this sidewalk. See that yard over there? I had my arm and my heart broken there. The arm was about ten years before the heart, and didn't hurt near as much. I remember the heart so much better. Now that's where Nancy Clemmer lived. Nancy and I had been in love since we were three years old. Had grown up together… And the winter we turned sixteen, when it came time for the high school Christmas dance. Boy I got excited. I went out rented a tuxedo, bought a boutonniere, a corsage, asked Daddy for the car. Had it washed and all shined up - boy it looked good. I remembered to do everything except one thing. Do you believe I forgot to ask Nancy? So there I stood on her front yard that night and she went to the dance with Eddie Franklin of all people and oh, by the way, ten years before that it was Nancy who broke my arm playing football in that very same yard and Nancy and I go back a long way. We walked to school (fades out)
(Spoken - Don Reid)
Every evening after school, along about the 4th or 5th grade we would all gather over in Jennifer's yard. Girls doing cartwheels and giggling. The boys doing tricks on their bikes and showing off. And we'd always get our heads together though and make big plans for special occasions. It was nearing Halloween and we told each other how we were going to dress and what we were going to be, and decided we'd all go trick or treating together. So ‘bout half a dozen of us took off Halloween night with our bags and costumes down the street. And my dog King, who was used to going everywhere I went, fell right in to go, too. But I didn't want him tagging along that night and I had to scold him pretty hard and almost drag him back to the backyard and close the gate on him. We hadn't gone ten houses down the street when old Blackie, this enormous old German Shepherd that we were all scared to death of, was for some reason loose on Halloween night. He came out from between two houses heading straight toward us. Everybody screamed and took off running except me, and I was so scared I froze. I never did see King but I felt him come in behind me, and he grabbed the old German Shepherd just before the old German Shepherd grabbed me and they went round and round and you couldn't see anything but fur flying I couldn't see the fur for the tears. Ol' Blackie ran home yelping and I grabbed King and hugged him. And We went home and the both of us settled in the front porch and watched the trick-or-treat your common go to mama turned to porch light off instead of was time to go to bed it was the best Halloween I ever had. I wouldn't trade it for all the candy (fades out)
(Spoken – Jimmy Fortune)
Two houses down from the corner, that's where Betty Lee Miller lived. And when I'd take her home at night if we sat in the car for thirty seconds her mama would start blinking the porch light. So we'd always walk up on the porch and the light was on and glaring right in our faces. There was no way I could ever kiss Betty good night without the whole neighborhood watching. So one night I just reached up and twisted the light bulb until it went out. We laughed, kissed, and then I went home. The next day Betty's mother came out, checked the switch and changed the light bulb. A few nights later the same thing happened, and the next day her mother said I don't know what could be happening with these light bulbs and she put a new one in. And this happened about five or six times and of course Betty wasn't about to tell her what was going on and I certainly wasn't. And then I went to pick Betty Lee up one evening and her daddy was on the front porch with a ladder and a tool belt and he was putting in a brand new light fixture. I decided then it was time to either quit turning the light off or quit turning Betty on. Unfortunately, I did both. The next fall she got engaged and moved to New York State (fades out)
(Spoken – Harold Reid)
The sights and sounds of this street will always haunt me. In the wintertime everyone would be out shoveling snow off the sidewalk. In the fall they'd be raking leaves and in the spring and summer mowing the grass or washing the cars. The kids would walk to school together and at three the quiet would be torn apart and the street would come alive again with children's voices and laughter. Daddy's would come home at five and warm lights were in every kitchen window. It was a time when people would walk or ride by and wave and you'd speak whether you knew them or not. A time when people really did go next door and borrow a cup of sugar. A time when sitting on the front porch was a special time of the evening, and boy, people back then could really sit on the front porch. Mama and Daddy in the glider and my sister in the swing and me on the front steps. And on just about any summer evening you could hear Shirley Jean Berrell and Charlotte Thompson across the street singing. They would be in the swing on Charlotte's front porch. Heh, you could hear that it will swing creaking, and I guess they only knew the harmony to one song, but they sang that one every evening. we'd get quiet and listen. That old swing would creak and Shirley Jean and Charlotte were singing. God if only I could be little again!
(Female singers fading into Statlers singing)
Tell me why the stars do shine
Tell me why the ivy twines
Tell me why the ocean's blue
(Don Reid sings) And I will tell you just why I love you
(Statlers sing)
Because God made the stars to shine
Because God made the ivy twine
Because God made the ocean blue
Because God made you, that's why I love you
Because God made the stars to shine
Because God made the ivy twine
Because God made the ocean blue
(Fades to female singers)
Because God made you, that's why I love you
[Thanks to mdhertle for adding these lyrics]
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