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
Papa played the Dobro this way and he'd go
 [bad word] [bad word] around he kept the Dobro hid
He knew he couldn't play the way the other players did
Why the guitar's resonator was a gallon bucket lid
But papa played the Dobro this way and he'd go

Well now that papa's gone away it's hanging by the flue
The top of [bad word] and the strings [bad word] too
It won't ever sound the way that it did when it was new
When papa played the Dobro this way and he'd go