(Old Dogs, Children and) Watermelon Wine explained

(Old Dogs, Children and) Watermelon Wine
Type:single
Artist:Tom T. Hall
Album:The Storyteller
B-Side:Grandma Whistled
Released:November 13, 1972
Recorded:July 12, 1972
Mercury Custom Recording Studio
Nashville, Tennessee
Genre:Country
Length:4:09
Label:Mercury
Producer:Jerry Kennedy
Prev Title:More About John Henry
Prev Year:1972
Next Title:Hello, We're Lonely
Next Year:1972

"(Old Dogs, Children and) Watermelon Wine" is a song written and recorded by American country music artist Tom T. Hall. It was released in November 1972 as the second and final single from the album The Storyteller. The song was Hall's third number one on the U.S. country singles chart and earned him his second nomination for the Grammy Award for Best Country Song. "(Old Dogs, Children And) Watermelon Wine" spent one week at the top and a total of thirteen weeks on the chart.[1] On June 1, 2014, Rolling Stone magazine ranked the song #93 on its list of the 100 greatest country songs.[2]

Content

The song is a true account of Hall's experience at the 1972 Democratic National Convention, where he had a conversation with an old porter (janitor) at a Miami Beach hotel. The porter appraises his own life by concluding that the only worthwhile things are the three listed in the song's title.[3]

Covers

The song was covered by artists such as Frankie Laine, whose version changed what the bartender was watching from Ironside to Rawhide; George Burns; John Prine; and Mac Wiseman and Ferlin Husky. Alf Robertson wrote new lyrics and recorded the song in 1977 in Swedish as Hundar och ungar och hembryggt äppelvin (Swedish for Dogs and children and home-brewed apple wine);[4] he scored a Svensktoppen hit with the song for 10 weeks between 2November 1980[5] and 18 January 1981,[6] topping the chart for 4 weeks.

Chart performance

Chart (1972–73)Peak
position
Canadian RPM Country Playlist[7] 1
Australian (Go-Set)[8] 21
New Zealand (Listener)[9] 17

External links

Notes and References

  1. Book: Whitburn, Joel . The Billboard Book Of Top 40 Country Hits: 1944-2006, Second edition . Joel Whitburn . 2004 . Record Research . 149.
  2. https://www.rollingstone.com/music/pictures/100-greatest-country-songs-of-all-time-20140601/93-tom-t-hall-old-dogs-children-and-watermelon-wine-1972-0157334 93. Tom T. Hall, 'Old Dogs, Children and Watermelon Wine' (1972) Photo - 100 Greatest Country Songs of All Time | Rolling Stone
  3. Book: Randall. Alice. Carter. Little. Courtney. Little. My Country Roots: The Ultimate MP3 Guide to America's Original Outsider Music. Thomas Nelson, Inc.. 2006. 92. 1-59555-860-8. registration.
  4. Web site: Svensk mediedatabas . https://web.archive.org/web/20141021023437/http://smdb.kb.se/catalog/id/001892094 . 21 October 2014 . 23 April 2011 . live .
  5. Web site: Svensktoppen . https://web.archive.org/web/20131003005833/http://sverigesradio.se/diverse/appdata/isidor/files/2023/3478.txt . 3 October 2013 . 1980 . 30 April 2011 . live .
  6. Web site: Svensktoppen . https://web.archive.org/web/20141107110711/https://sverigesradio.se/diverse/appdata/isidor/files/2023/3479.txt . 7 November 2014 . 1981 . 26 May 2011 . live .
  7. Web site: RPM Country Playlist - January 20, 1973.
  8. Web site: Go-Set Australian charts - Top Records for the Year of 1973 . 2011-08-08 . 2015-03-31 . https://web.archive.org/web/20150331014508/http://www.poparchives.com.au/gosetcharts/1973/top1973.html . dead .
  9. http://www.flavourofnz.co.nz/index.php?qpageID=search%20listener&qartistid=929#n_view_location Flavour of New Zealand, 27 August 1973