Oh boy.. did that shake out some old, old memories. Thank-you. Tom T Hall was an amazing songwriter, and he became a greatly appreciated ‘story telling’ singer too. One of his first hits (written) was Harper Valley PTA which was recorded by Jeannie C Reilly.. but he wrote songs for Johnny Cash and many others too. Great reaction, as always!
Tom T Hall has written a lot of great songs. My favorites are “I like beer” and “faster horses”. His song “that’s how I got to Memphis” has been covered by a lot of people.
Watermelon wine was a staple drink that my mother and dad used to make on our farm in Wva with their friends. They would have their friends over on a weekend, & both days were designated to making this wine and also homemade brew( beer) Older kids had to cut the rinds from the flesh, and most of the seeds of the watermelon were taken out by the younger kids. We certainly got our belly's full with the sweet watermelon. ❤There were ELEVEN and 1/2 of us with both families😮( one was not born yet). After the watermelons were cut to size, we kids were excused to play while the adults finished their brewing. I don't know the finishing process of either beverage, but i know they used yeast. The wine was stored for 2 months in gallon jugs to give it time to age. The beer was in what I'd call a regular size dark beer bottle. It had to be capped with a certain tool and put in the root cellar to finish the fermentation process. They had to seal, and we knew when they were sealing because we could hear the popping sounds of the lids at night. 😅If they didn't ferment correctly, the beer could not be saved. It had to be drunk ASAP, so some Sundays turned out to be a beer "party" for their friends if there was a lot. LoL😅. It was funny to all of us kids watching the adults drink because they all were always laughing, doing funny things &" letting their hair down" as the old phrase goes, & most importantly, they allowed us kids to have more fun and less working on farm things. LoL.😅 @haribestreaction, if you like wine and watermelon, you will like it, I'm sure. It tastes like watermelon but with a sweetness due to the sugar. And, it can be made at home. BTW, Tom T.Hall was a favorite of my mother. I remember hearing her sing it. Thank you, Kansas and Hari, for giving me some lovely memories of growing up on the farm in my home state, West Virginia.❤
Harris, there are so many great Tom T. Hall songs! He had a real gift for telling stories in a down home, gentle manner that makes you feel as if you're both just sitting on a porch, listening as he relates some life truth or personal anecdote...☺️ This song, and "Country Is.." are two of my very favorites!😊💖
I'm a fan also about traditional country music because it's something to do about sharing stories amazing stories of the past and the present so that by means the generations to come will also know and how a lesson to learn with the past specially the old folks. May the traditional country music will always be into our hearts including the country singers who shares stories like this like tom hall.
Hi Harri! "Old Dogs, Children & Watermelon Wine" is a true story about a trip Tom T. Hall made. He was an incredible songwriter & storyteller. For a good laugh, check out "Who's Gonna Feed Them Hogs". A great tribute song is "Grandma Whistled". Take care! --- Bill (From Mt. Holly, NJ)
Tom T. Hall was never the world's best singer but who cares? -- he wrote some of the greatest country songs ever. He was known as The Storyteller because all of his songs were in the form of stories and most of them were stories snatched, directly or indirectly, from his own life. I love this song and I love "The Year That Clayton Delaney Died." He also wrote and recorded children's albums and some his children's songs became No. 1 country hits. R.I.P. Tom T.
He was obviously on a Country Show, because the original lyrics were " watching " Ironside " on TV " not " watching good old Nashville music on TV " ...
The Monkey Who Became President is still a great commentary on politics and he wrote it during the Nixon years. Love Tom T. Hall, great timber in his voice.
Tom T. Hall has got more stories to tell you Harri. His nickname was "The Story Teller". Two other hits on the country charts in the 80s was Faster Horses. I Like Beer. There's more. He was a DJ before he took up to writing music and performing. Watermelon wine is a country home made wine like dandelion wine, blackberry wine, raisin wine. This song is about the simple things in life learned from an old wise black gentleman of which his memory is fond of.
Hi, Harri. This song is a great one, and I’ve always believed the lyric aims to infuse an elevated, enlightened mindset with America’s racist past. Watermelons for some reason have been associated with a sort of negative racist stereotype that all black people like water melons. This trope is especially common in rural populations. And so the old black man would naturally turn to watermelon as a favorite wine flavor. What I’ve always thought was great about this song is how it has the ability to make that all go away. Like you, I’ve never heard of watermelon wine outside this song. But in listening to this to the American ear the trope is obvious. At the same time, watermelon wine sounds really tasty. And as the lyric goes on to say Tom later had pleasant dreams of watermelon wine, it seems to say that of course this is a good thing and that we can all share a common dream. Love it.
I seen him in the 70's. This was one of the songs he sang. They called him the storyteller. I like watermelon wine. Haven't had any in awhile. I guess it's a southern thing.
I wrote on a country blog about that line it could have two meanings, does it mean God bless the little children while they are young and have no hatred in their hearts yet? or God bless em while they're young and haven't grown old enough for grown ups to hate em yet? I used to think it was the latter but I now think it's the first meaning. Either way it's brilliant writing
So glad you're onto Tom T. Hall, one of country music's greatest storytellers. Check out his "The Homecoming" and "The Ballad of Forty Dollars," Harri. You'll love them.
This brings back so many memories. My mother owned a restaurant and on Saturday night. She would put it on the jukebox and we would listen to it mini many years ago.
Most people in the American south would understand the sentimental value of watermelon wine even if they never actually drank any of it. Even the poorest people usually had a watermelon patch and could make wine if they wanted to.
Tom T Hall I grew up listening to his music thanks to my Aunt who was a big fan. I now have all the vinyl records she had of his. A real story teller with a wonderful voice. Check out Sneaky Snake Me And Jesus I Like Beer Ravishing Ruby The Year That Clayton Delaney Died Oh so many more a huge catalogue
Looks like others have covered Tom's great stuff. Please explore these songs further. He is considered one of the greatest story tellers in country (and probably all genres) of music.
One of my favourite songs when I was a kid was Tom T Hall's "Pamela Brown" .. Such a great melody and a very catchy chorus .. Doesn't get the attention it deserves .. Please check it out, Harri.🙏
A great reaction. I hope that you will react to more of Tom T Hall's music. As other comenters have said he was a brilliant song writer. I don't think you could pick a bad Tom T Hall song. My personal pick would be "The Year That Clayton Delaney Died". There are other songs in country music about watermelon wine. I think Tracy Byrd's "Watermelon Crawl" would be a fun one. Also if you want the opposite philosophy of life to this one in a Tom T Hall song consider "Faster Horses (the cowboy and the poet)".
Um no. People need to do some research before the say something. Geeez. His name is Tom T Hall and the SONG is called " Old Dogs, and Children and Watermelon Wine" This just means disrespect to me when you can't even get his name right.
![Tom T Hall -- Old Dogs, Children, and Watermelon Wine [REACTION/RATING]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/f88Knfe2hTo/mqdefault.jpg)
![Tom T Hall -- Old Dogs, Children, and Watermelon Wine [REACTION/RATING]](/img/tr.png)
Oh boy.. did that shake out some old, old memories. Thank-you. Tom T Hall was an amazing songwriter, and he became a greatly appreciated ‘story telling’ singer too. One of his first hits (written) was Harper Valley PTA which was recorded by Jeannie C Reilly.. but he wrote songs for Johnny Cash and many others too. Great reaction, as always!
Tom T Hall has written a lot of great songs. My favorites are “I like beer” and “faster horses”. His song “that’s how I got to Memphis” has been covered by a lot of people.
I like I Love and Sneaky Snake
Watermelon wine was a staple drink that my mother and dad used to make on our farm in Wva with their friends. They would have their friends over on a weekend, & both days were designated to making this wine and also homemade brew( beer) Older kids had to cut the rinds from the flesh, and most of the seeds of the watermelon were taken out by the younger kids. We certainly got our belly's full with the sweet watermelon. ❤There were ELEVEN and 1/2 of us with both families😮( one was not born yet). After the watermelons were cut to size, we kids were excused to play while the adults finished their brewing. I don't know the finishing process of either beverage, but i know they used yeast. The wine was stored for 2 months in gallon jugs to give it time to age. The beer was in what I'd call a regular size dark beer bottle. It had to be capped with a certain tool and put in the root cellar to finish the fermentation process. They had to seal, and we knew when they were sealing because we could hear the popping sounds of the lids at night. 😅If they didn't ferment correctly, the beer could not be saved. It had to be drunk ASAP, so some Sundays turned out to be a beer "party" for their friends if there was a lot. LoL😅. It was funny to all of us kids watching the adults drink because they all were always laughing, doing funny things &" letting their hair down" as the old phrase goes, & most importantly, they allowed us kids to have more fun and less working on farm things. LoL.😅 @haribestreaction, if you like wine and watermelon, you will like it, I'm sure. It tastes like watermelon but with a sweetness due to the sugar. And, it can be made at home.
BTW, Tom T.Hall was a favorite of my mother. I remember hearing her sing it. Thank you, Kansas and Hari, for giving me some lovely memories of growing up on the farm in my home state, West Virginia.❤
Tom T. Hall was known in country music as "The Storyteller." Most of his songs were a story. He was an incredible song writer.
Pure soulds ALWAYS shine through no matter their Genre. I Love Tom T Hall so much and grew up with him. A great Voice and Great story teller in Music.
Watermelon wine is a symbol of the small, everyday pleasures in life.
Hall's "I Love" is a wonderful tune. Simple and sincere.
First time ever listening to Tom T. Hall
Such a deep voice and love his style of storytelling singing
Beautiful song
🎵💜🎶
Classic from my early years growing up...
I'm 60 now and still quite love and enjoy this gem.
They don't make Country music like this anymore.
What is referred to as Country music today is not Country music, it's a poor attempt at Rock and Roll.
The original version of this song had the guy running the bar watching Ironside on TV. Ironside was TV show that ran from 1967 to 1975.
Harris, there are so many great Tom T. Hall songs! He had a real gift for telling stories in a down home, gentle manner that makes you feel as if you're both just sitting on a porch, listening as he relates some life truth or personal anecdote...☺️
This song, and "Country Is.." are two of my very favorites!😊💖
I just noticed the Nigel Benn book. I boxed amateur all through the 90s. I looked up to him tremendously.
I'm a fan also about traditional country music because it's something to do about sharing stories amazing stories of the past and the present so that by means the generations to come will also know and how a lesson to learn with the past specially the old folks.
May the traditional country music will always be into our hearts including the country singers who shares stories like this like tom hall.
Hi Harri! "Old Dogs, Children & Watermelon Wine" is a true story about a trip Tom T. Hall made. He was an incredible songwriter & storyteller. For a good laugh, check out "Who's Gonna Feed Them Hogs". A great tribute song is "Grandma Whistled". Take care! --- Bill (From Mt. Holly, NJ)
I'm from the USA. Watermelon wine goes nice with salads. Plenty of recipes on line.
Tom T. Hall was never the world's best singer but who cares? -- he wrote some of the greatest country songs ever. He was known as The Storyteller because all of his songs were in the form of stories and most of them were stories snatched, directly or indirectly, from his own life. I love this song and I love "The Year That Clayton Delaney Died." He also wrote and recorded children's albums and some his children's songs became No. 1 country hits. R.I.P. Tom T.
Great song..always loved Tom T Hall. I read in the comments there is a watermelon wine..learn something everyday.Thanks
Tom hall wrote a beautiful song called..
I Love
Homecoming is a good one by him. Also The year Clayton Delaney died.
Homecoming great song
Tom T Hall's mother wrote the Elvis block buster 'Heart Break Hotel' :)
Love this song, haven’t heard it for years. Thanks for reacting to it
He was obviously on a Country Show, because the original lyrics were " watching " Ironside " on TV " not " watching good old Nashville music on TV " ...
The Monkey Who Became President is still a great commentary on politics and he wrote it during the Nixon years. Love Tom T. Hall, great timber in his voice.
Another great old Country story song is... Marie LaVoe and I believe the artist is Bobby Bare.
Tom T. Hall has got more stories to tell you Harri. His nickname was "The Story Teller". Two other hits on the country charts in the 80s was Faster Horses. I Like Beer. There's more. He was a DJ before he took up to writing music and performing. Watermelon wine is a country home made wine like dandelion wine, blackberry wine, raisin wine. This song is about the simple things in life learned from an old wise black gentleman of which his memory is fond of.
Hi, Harri. This song is a great one, and I’ve always believed the lyric aims to infuse an elevated, enlightened mindset with America’s racist past. Watermelons for some reason have been associated with a sort of negative racist stereotype that all black people like water melons. This trope is especially common in rural populations. And so the old black man would naturally turn to watermelon as a favorite wine flavor.
What I’ve always thought was great about this song is how it has the ability to make that all go away. Like you, I’ve never heard of watermelon wine outside this song. But in listening to this to the American ear the trope is obvious. At the same time, watermelon wine sounds really tasty. And as the lyric goes on to say Tom later had pleasant dreams of watermelon wine, it seems to say that of course this is a good thing and that we can all share a common dream.
Love it.
I seen him in the 70's. This was one of the songs he sang. They called him the storyteller. I like watermelon wine. Haven't had any in awhile. I guess it's a southern thing.
Also check out Bobby Bear and Roger Miller. You would love them to. You've got me thinking about all the old storytellers now. Lol
Bobby Bare
Hey Tom T hall is from my hometown olive hill, Kentucky
The community that I live in is called Olive Hill, but it's in NC.
@@chrisoakley5830 that’s interesting never heard of it before but you probably haven’t heard of my little town either
@@Kentuckyhunter58 Well the Olive Hill that I live in isn't even a town, just a township in our county.
@@chrisoakley5830 yeah mine is a small town with a population around 2,200 I think
Great songwriter
Another good one by Tom you will get a kick out of is A Week In A Country Jail.
Agree! It's my favorite as I used to sing it with my son when he was little and explain all the lyrics to him.
He was such a great storyteller. Loved listening to him. Another great is Hoyt Axton... Please check out , Della and the Dealer
It is a true story.
Hello Harri. God bless the little children while they're still to young to hate. One of the best lyrics in music....ever.
I wrote on a country blog about that line it could have two meanings, does it mean God bless the little children while they are young and have no hatred in their hearts yet? or God bless em while they're young and haven't grown old enough for grown ups to hate em yet? I used to think it was the latter but I now think it's the first meaning. Either way it's brilliant writing
My favorite of his is I Love. It's a beautiful song.
The true storyteller
Know why he was in Miami? He attended the Democratic convention that nominated George Mcgovern. 1972, fact.
Tom t hall is considered a story teller
His nickname was "The Storyteller".
I suggest you look up his best songs. He is an important voice in Country Music
Never heard this song before .. I love it
Tom T Hall is one of the best.
My favorite songs by Tom T. Hall have always been his Country Songs for Children.
You have to check out his song, I Like Beer
So glad you're onto Tom T. Hall, one of country music's greatest storytellers. Check out his "The Homecoming" and "The Ballad of Forty Dollars," Harri. You'll love them.
❤ awesome song
Love Tom T. Wonderful songwriter. The Year Clayton Delaney Died is another great song by him
Homecoming, a great song.
a tear jerker
Yeah great song
Tom T Hall is known as The Storyteller. I don't think it's an exaggeration to say he never recorded a bad song.
one of the best !!
One of the best story tellers of the generation.
I'm German, love Country music, Elvis, Sam Cook and Tom 😊😊
This brings back so many memories. My mother owned a restaurant and on Saturday night. She would put it on the jukebox and we would listen to it mini many years ago.
Faster horses bloke 😊
Check out “I Like Beer” by Tom T Hall
Another great song by Tom . WHOSE GONNA FEED THEM HOGS ?
That is a mostly true story
Most people in the American south would understand the sentimental value of watermelon wine even if they never actually drank any of it.
Even the poorest people usually had a watermelon patch and could make wine if they wanted to.
I had the album this was on, many years ago. Tom T wrote a bunch of good songs. He was a great story teller
Tom T Hall I grew up listening to his music thanks to my Aunt who was a big fan. I now have all the vinyl records she had of his. A real story teller with a wonderful voice.
Check out
Sneaky Snake
Me And Jesus
I Like Beer
Ravishing Ruby
The Year That Clayton Delaney Died
Oh so many more a huge catalogue
I forgot Country Is now that is a sensational song
Call the Country Poet
Thanks for another great tune, Harri
Thank yo u Harri. I like the fact you keep an open mind on music its a sign of intelligence Unlike so many people who are stuck one one type of music.
Another great by Tom T Hall is, Faster Women.
Looks like others have covered Tom's great stuff. Please explore these songs further. He is considered one of the greatest story tellers in country (and probably all genres) of music.
Thanks for the memories
Tom T Hall was known for his story telling.
One of my favourite songs when I was a kid was Tom T Hall's "Pamela Brown" .. Such a great melody and a very catchy chorus .. Doesn't get the attention it deserves .. Please check it out, Harri.🙏
I second that, great song. Needs a reaction.
A great reaction. I hope that you will react to more of Tom T Hall's music. As other comenters have said he was a brilliant song writer. I don't think you could pick a bad Tom T Hall song. My personal pick would be "The Year That Clayton Delaney Died". There are other songs in country music about watermelon wine. I think Tracy Byrd's "Watermelon Crawl" would be a fun one. Also if you want the opposite philosophy of life to this one in a Tom T Hall song consider "Faster Horses (the cowboy and the poet)".
WINE homemade, fermented from watermelon.
Please, please, please don't break in and pause so often. Lots of time to share your thoughts at the end.
Um no. People need to do some research before the say something. Geeez. His name is Tom T Hall and the SONG is called " Old Dogs, and Children and Watermelon Wine" This just means disrespect to me when you can't even get his name right.