Lyrics Page

Thanks To Uncle John

By Merle Haggard

530 views Sep 26, 2025 updated

Many years ago when my daddy died
I caught myself a freight train and my mama cried
Looking back it all looks like a marathon
And it started all with an E chord I learned from Uncle John

Now John had a lot of gumption and he gave me some
And he taught me "Rubber Dolly" and a guitar run
A river bank in those days wadn't my love, boo
But he shared his kitchen table and his family too

Now, right here and now it's thanks to Uncle John
To Claudia, Doug, Norman, Joe and Lillian
Now John Burke was really not my uncle but we were kin
'Cause he shared his home and family and he took me in

Many years ago when my daddy died
I caught myself a freight train and my mama cried
And looking back it all looks like a marathon
And it started all with a blues chord that I learned from my uncle John

"Rubber Dolly", yes
"Rubber Dolly"

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