Cash Johnny One Piece At A Time Lyrics

One Piece At A Time Lyrics

Written by W. Kemp

 Recorded by Johnny Cash on 3/5/76

 Number one - County Chart

 Number 29 - Pop Chart

 

 Well, I left Kentucky back in '49

 An' went to Detroit workin' on a 'sembly line

 The first year they had me puttin' wheels on cadillacs

 

 Every day I'd watch them beauties roll by

 And sometimes I'd hang my head and cry

 'Cause I always wanted me one that was long and black.

 

 One day I devised myself a plan

 That should be the envy of most any man

 I'd sneak it out of there in a lunchbox in my hand

 Now gettin' caught meant gettin' fired

 But I figured I'd have it all by the time I retired

 I'd have me a car worth at least a hundred grand.

 

 CHORUS 

 I'd get it one piece at a time

 And it wouldn't cost me a dime

 You'll know it's me when I come through your town

 I'm gonna ride around in style

 I'm gonna drive everybody wild

 'Cause I'll have the only one there is a round.

 

 So the very next day when I punched in

 With my big lunchbox and with help from my friends

 I left that day with a lunch box full of gears

 Now, I never considered myself a thief

 GM wouldn't miss just one little piece

 Especially if I strung it out over several years.

 

 The first day I got me a fuel pump

 And the next day I got me an engine and a trunk

 Then I got me a transmission and all of the chrome

 The little things I could get in my big lunchbox

 Like nuts, an' bolts, and all four shocks

 But the big stuff we snuck out in my buddy's mobile home.

 

 Now, up to now my plan went all right

 'Til we tried to put it all together one night

 And that's when we noticed that something was definitely wrong.

 

 The transmission was a '53

 And the motor turned out to be a '73

 And when we tried to put in the bolts all the holes were gone.

 

 So we drilled it out so that it would fit

 And with a little bit of help with an A-daptor kit

 We had that engine runnin' just like a song

 Now the headlight' was another sight

 We had two on the left and one on the right

 But when we pulled out the switch all three of 'em come on.

 

 The back end looked kinda funny too

 But we put it together and when we got thru

 Well, that's when we noticed that we only had one tail-fin

 About that time my wife walked out

 And I could see in her eyes that she had her doubts

 But she opened the door and said "Honey, take me for a spin."

 

 So we drove up town just to get the tags

 And I headed her right on down main drag

 I could hear everybody laughin' for blocks around

 But up there at the court house they didn't laugh

 'Cause to type it up it took the whole staff

 And when they got through the title weighed sixty pounds.

 

 CHORUS 

 I got it one piece at a time

 And it didn't cost me a dime

 You'll know it's me when I come through your town

 I'm gonna ride around in style

 I'm gonna drive everybody wild

 'Cause I'll have the only one there is around.

 

 (Spoken) Ugh! Yow, RED RYDER 

 This is the COTTON MOUTH

 In the PSYCHO-BILLY CADILLAC Come on

 

 Huh, This is the COTTON MOUTH

 And negatory on the cost of this mow-chine there RED RYDER

 You might say I went right up to the factory

 And picked it up, it's cheaper that way

 Ugh!, what model is it?

 

 Well, It's a '49, '50, '51, '52, '53, '54, '55, '56

 '57, '58' 59' automobile

 It's a '60, '61, '62, '63, '64, '65, '66, '67

 '68, '69, '70 automobile.