Ballad of Forty Dollars

"Ballad of Forty Dollars" is a song written and recorded by American country music artist Tom T. Hall. It was released in October 1968 as the fourth and final single from the album of the same name, Ballad of Forty Dollars. The song was Hall's first top 10 on the U.S. country singles chart, peaking at number 4 on both the U.S. chart and the Canadian country singles chart.[1]

"Ballad of Forty Dollars"
Single by Tom T. Hall
from the album Ballad of Forty Dollars and His Other Great Songs
B-side"Highways"
ReleasedOctober 28, 1968
RecordedSeptember 1, 1968
Columbia Studio, Nashville, Tennessee
GenreCountry
Length3:09
LabelMercury 72863
Songwriter(s)Tom T. Hall
Producer(s)Jerry Kennedy
Tom T. Hall singles chronology
"I Ain't Got the Time"
(1968)		 "Ballad of Forty Dollars"
(1968)		 "Strawberry Farms"
(1969)

Content

The song is narrated by a cemetery caretaker. He observes the funeral of a man and the people coming bid him farewell, the preacher, the great-uncle’s limousine, his grieving wife, the military "Taps" (as he probably was a war veteran), and the gossip about his estate.

Background

Hall took this song, as many of his hits, from personal experience; he was working with his aunt on a cemetery and was observing many funerals and the people coming, then talking about the guy who owed him 40 dollars. He said: “You're certainly not going to go to the widow and collect it. I guess it's lost.”[2]

Chart performance
Chart (1968) Peak
position
U.S. Billboard Hot Country Singles 4
Canadian RPM Country Tracks 4

References
  1. Whitburn, Joel (2004). The Billboard Book Of Top 40 Country Hits: 1944-2006, Second edition. Record Research. p. 149.
  2. In the Words of Tom T. Hall ...


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