True Blue Bill

True Blue Bill (also known as I’m a Truthful Fellow)

Words and music by Gene Autry, Frank Marvin, and George Rainey, 1931.


I grew up in the mountains
Out where the snakes have legs,
Where the hoot-owls speak in English
And the roosters lay square eggs.

I shaved my beard and mustache
The morning I was born,
And that night beat up my old man
And drank his rye and corn.

Oh, I’m a truthful fellow,
They call me True Blue Bill.
I never told a falsehood,
And I bet I never will.

I’ve had some great adventures.
I’ve sailed the seven seas.
I’ve tamed man-eating monsters
From lions on down to fleas.

I’ve swum the wide Pacific,
And I walked around the moon.
I waded forty feet of snow
The thirty-first of June.

I used to be a flyer,
And in my aeroplane.
I flew across to Paris,
And started home again.

When I got half way over
The doggone motor balked.
So I let the blamed thing set up there,
And I got out and walked.

One time when I was ship-wrecked
On islands in the sea.
By cannibals I was captured,
And tied up to a tree.

They danced and beat the tom-tom,
And they got rather rough.
But they said I wouldn’t make good steak,
I was too doggone tough.

Oh the father of our country
Could never tell a lie,
And he was my great uncle
So I ask, why should I?


Collected from Romeo 5052, as sung by Gene Autry, recorded February 25, 1931.


I grew up in the mountains
Out where the snakes have legs,
Where hoot-owls speak English
And roosters lay square eggs.

I shaved my beard and mustache
The mornin’ I was born,
And that night I beat up my old man
And drank his rye and corn.

Oh, I’m a truthful fellow,
Folks call me True Blue Bill,
I never told a falsehood,
And I bet I never will.

I’ve had some great adventures.
I’ve sailed the seven seas.
I’ve tamed man-eating monsters
From lions down to fleas.

I’ve swum the wide Pacific.
I’ve walked around the moon,
And I’ve waded forty feet of snow
The thirty-first day of June.

[Yodeling]

One time when I was ship-wrecked,
On islands in the sea,
By cannibals I was captured,
And tied up to a tree.

They danced and beat the tom-tom,
And they got rather rough,
But they said I would not make good steak
Because I looked too tough.

Oh the father of our country
Could never tell a lie,
And he was my great uncle
So I ask you why should I?

I used to be a flyer,
And in my aeroplane,
I flew across to Paris
Then I started home again.

When I got half way over
The doggone motor balked,
So I let the blamed thing set up there
And I got out and walked.

[Yodeling]


Collected from Crown 3058, as sung by Frankie Marvin, recorded in January of 1931.