The One on the Right Is on the Left
1966 · Columbia 4-43496 · New York City, New York
- Artist
- Johnny Cash
- Title
- The One on the Right Is on the Left
- Release
- The One on the Right Is on the Left / Cotton Pickin' Hands
- Year
- 1966
- Label
- Columbia # 4-43496
- Format
- 7" · Single
- Language
- English
- Country
- New York City, New York, USA
- Songwriter
- J.H. Clement
- Genre
- Country · Country Folk
- Primary theme
- Peace, Protest & Anti-War
Annotation
One on the Right Is on the Left, The (Cash, Johnny) Country, anti-protest, anti-folk Keep you politics out of songs One of the members of the group draft
Annotation by Justin A. Brummer
Lyrics
English: There once was a musical troupe / A pickin' singin' folk group / They sang the mountain ballads / And the folk songs of our land / They were long on musical ability / Folks thought they would go far / But political incompatibility led to their downfall / Well, the one on the right was on the left / And the one in the middle was on the right / And the one on the left was in the middle / And the guy in the rear was a Methodist / This musical aggregation toured the entire nation / Singing the traditional ballads / And the folk songs of our land / They performed with great virtuosity / And soon they were the rage / But political animosity prevailed upon the stage / Well, the one on the right was on the left / And the one in the middle was on the right / And the one on the left was in the middle / And the guy in the rear burned his driver's license / Well the curtain had ascended / A hush fell on the crowd / As thousands there were gathered to hear the folk songs of our land / But they took their politics seriously / And that night at the concert hall / As the audience watched deliriously / They had a free-for-all / Well, the one on the right was on the bottom / And the one in the middle was on the top / And the one on the left got a broken arm / And the guy on his rear, said, "Oh dear" / Now this should be a lesson if you plan to start a folk group / Don't go mixin' politics with the folk songs of our land / Just work on harmony and diction / Play your banjo well / And…
Notes
Columbia 4-43496 (ZSP 112665), 45 RPM, red label; "The One on the Right Is on the Left" (J. H. Clement), 2:46; produced by Don Law & Frank Jones. [From the record sleeve and labels]
About the artist
Born 26 February 1932, Kingsland, Arkansas, USA. Died 12 September 2003, Nashville, Tennessee, USA
Themes
In collections
Draft Songs · Peace, Protest, & Anti-War Songs [War Years] · US 'Patriotic' / Pro-Government / Anti-Protest Songs [War Years]