This Ole House

This Ole House

 

Every time I drive to Rice Lake, I pass this old house just before the Highway O and Highway 8 intersection. So often when I gaze upon an old, abandoned house, I wonder about the family who lived there when the house was new - those who loved it and called it home. My mind's eye can easily see the hustle and bustle of that family getting ready to celebrate Thanksgiving - a couple generations ago. I see kids running down the steps from their upstairs bedrooms, eager to get outdoors to play. (It would be nice to write that they were eager to help their mom get ready for Thanksgiving, but let's get real. We are talking about human nature, and most kids would rather play than run errands.) I see a mom rolling out pie crust while listening to the radio. I see a dad reading the Drudge Report cleaning his gun in anticipation of bringing home a deer or a turkey.

So that takes me back to my great grandmother's generation and reminds me of her bedroom, where a record player stood in the corner with a stack of 78s in the cabinet. Among them was This Ole House by Stuart Hamblen.

This Ole House

This ole house once knew my children
This ole house once knew my wife
This ole house was home and comfort
As we fought the storms of life
This ole house once rang with laughter
This ole house heard many shouts
Now she trembles in the darkness
When the lightnin' walks about

Ain't a-gonna need this house no longer
Ain't a-gonna need this house no more
Ain't got time to fix the shingles
Ain't got time to fix the floor
Ain't got time to oil the hinges
Nor to mend no window pane
Ain't gonna need this house no longer
I'm a-gettin' ready to meet the saints

This ole house is a-gettin' shaky
This ole house is a-gettin' old
This ole house lets in the rain
This ole house lets in the cold
On my knees I'm gettin' chilly
But I feel no fear or pain
'Cause I see an angel peekin'
Through a broken window pane

Ain't a-gonna need this house no longer...

Now this ole house is afraid of thunder
This ole house is afraid of storms
This ole house just groans and trembles
When the night wind flings its arms
This ole house is a-gettin' feeble
This ole house is a-needin' paint
Just like me it's tuckered out
But I'm a-gettin' ready to meet the saints

Ain't a-gonna need this house no longer...

And my old hound dog lies a sleepin'
He don't know I'm gonna leave
Else he'd wake up by the fire place
And he'd sit down, howl and grieve
But my huntin' days are over
Ain't gonna hunt the coon no more
Gabriel done brought in my chariot
When the wind blew down the door

Ain't a-gonna need this house no longer...

(Sorry about the ad)

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