G
Now you know some fellas they want fame and fortune
D7
Yeah and other fellas they just wanna swing
G
But all I wanted all my life
C
Was a TV set and a truck and a wife
D7 G
And a front row seat to hear ole Johnny sing
D7 G
Yeah the TV and the truck I got on credit
D7
And I got that girl with a little old Woolworth ring
G
And life was warm and life was sweet
C
But still it was kinda incomplete
D7 G
Without a front row seat to hear ole Johnny sing
D7
Hey John you walk the line do Delia one more time
And when you do them Cotton Fields you warm this heart of mine
G D7 G
So one day I thought hey I'm gonna do it (That's what I said)
D7
So I mortgaged the farm and pawned her wedding ring
G
I sold the gold tooth out of my mouth
C
And jumped in the pickup and headed south
D7 G
For a front row seat to hear ole Johnny sing
I hit Nashville cold and wet and hungry
D7
I said I'm here bring him on let him do his thing
G
But they told me down at the Old Pit Grill
C
I'd have to go all the way to Andersonville
D7 G
For a front row seat to hear ole Johnny sing
D7 G
I found his house knocked on the door and it was opened
D7
By a brown haired girl and a baby with a teethin' ring
G
I said I seen you somewhere before
C
But don't stand there and block the door
D7 G
I want a front row seat to hear ole Johnny sing
D7
Hey John you walk the line do Delia one more time
And when you do them Cotton Fields you warm this heart of mine
She said I'd have to go down to The Opry
D7
And the feller there said I'd have to wait till spring
G
He said we've been sold out for months and months
C
And this poor insane fellah wants
D7 G
A front row seat to hear ole Johnny sing
Well he said a couple more things and I started cryin'
D7
And then he laughed at me and that's when I started to swing
G
Well I bust through the doors in a roaring rage
C
Crawled over the crowd till I reached the stage
D7 G
For a front row seat to hear ole Johnny sing
D7
Hey John you walk the line do Delia one more time
And when you do them Cotton Fields you warm this heart of mine
Then some crazy guard started shootin'
D7
I shot back and the next thing I know I was winged and on the floor
G
When a guy in a voice kinda deep and low
C
Says boy that's a mighty long way to go
D7 G
For a front row seat to hear anybody sing
And I guess that judge he weren't no music lover
D7
I got fifteen months but that don't mean a thing
G
Cause yesterday in the prison yard
C
A show come through and har de har
D7 G
I had a front row seat to hear ole Johnny sing