When I was a young boy Watching our TV All the family came And gathered around A young man with a banjo With a grin from ear to ear Pickin' out that high and lonesome sound It wasn't any kind of sound That I had heard before Yet it was doggone plain And clear to me It was a rockabilly banjo Wish I knew what he knows Sittin' on his front porch Pickin' on the strings Any kind of music He can make it sing It was a rockabilly banjo Rockabilly banjo I got myself a fine string T'was missin' one or two So I fixed it up The best that I could do I played it night and day In every kind of way I was pickin' pretty good you could say I packed it up Didn't get far Played for tips In the mason jar In the back of my head That sound called out to me High up on a ridge I've been drinkin' too much fizz Thinkin' I was done Gonna call it quits Just thеn music filled the air He was standin' thеre He said come sit down We're gonna play a bit Playin' all the songs That I sang so long ago He shook my hand and said I'm givin' this to you