Before Jessie Died - Tom T. Hall

She sat on the bar stool, she smoked and she drank

Till the past became clear and the future went blank

In the path she regains all her beauty and pride

But that was before Jessie died

Jessie, her husband was small, he was lean

Drove a big yellow earth moving machine

They had a new pick-up, the joy of their lives

But that was before Jessie died

She used to go shopping for pretty young clothes

And her hair done Thursdays and her nails and her toes

And on weekends they danced till the first morning light

But that was before Jessie died

On weekends they’d cook out and watch all the games

Jessie knew all of the best players names

The sunshine so bright it put tears in your eyes

But that was before Jessie died

When Jessie got sick he was thirty years old

They said, «It ain’t nothing but a little light cold»

And he worked till the pain wouldn’t ease or subside

And that was before Jessie died

Now she sits on the stool with a glass in her hand

She smiles and she talks to a travelin' man

And there was time she would turn down a ride

But that was before Jessie died

She sat on the bar stool, she smoked and she drank

'Till the past became clear and the future went blank

In the path she regains all her beauty and pride

But that was before Jessie died