West Nashville Grand Ballroom Gown 

By: Jimmy Buffett 

1974 

Standin' on side of the Highway 4 exit 

A lady in tie-dye, a bag by her side 

Not really lookin' like anything special 

Saw Tennessee tags and she waved for a ride 



Sat right beside me as the meter hit sixty 

'Splainin' her travels and her family background 

When she got through I could not help but thinkin' 

She's a long way from a West Nashville grand ballroom gown 



Chorus: 

Father had money and her mother had love 

Channelled entirely to her dear sister Dove 

Twenty-two years in society's plan 

Was cancelled in the swing of her dear mother's hand 



Six hours later we hit Cincinnati 

Yawnin', she woke and then asked where we were 

When she found out, she said I must be goin' 

This close to Nashville was too close for her 



So I stopped by the roadside and I gave her five dollars 

She took it then kissed me and gave me a note 

She told me just to read it then mail it in Nashville 

On old loose-leaf paper to her mother she wrote 



Chorus: 

She said, "Mama I'm fine if you happen to wonder 

I don't have much money but I still get around 

I haven't made church in near thirty-six Sundays 

So fuck all those West Nashville grand ballroom gowns" 



Yes she's a long way from a West Nashville grand ballroom gown