Follow The Cumberland To Stardom

FOLLOW THE CUMBERLAND TO STARDOM By Jesse Scobie
(inspired by Nashville)

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You’ll make the drive down to Tennessee tonight, like you planned
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You played some bars and joints in DC, but it’s just where you began
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Your friends and family always said, “music as a living is martyrdom”
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But you knew in your heart one day, to follow the Cumberland to stardom

(Same Chords)
Like Willie Nelson’s hit, you are “On The Road Again” for your journey
The windy road of I-40 takes you to the Ryman and Grand Ole Opry
You reach Music City, step inside a honky tonk bar and say “Pardon”
“But I would like to sign up and sing, to follow the Cumberland to stardom.”

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It’s hard to make end’s meet as a songwriter in the city of Music Row
So your trashcan is full of scrapped works, as you weep what you sow
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You follow all of the forms of Cash, Dylan, Haggard and Dolly Parton
Soon you have some story gems, setting you sail on the Cumberland to stardom


Verse: (Same Chords)
A manager hears your song about the wild west and barroom fights
He signs you right there and then beneath the bar’s neon lights
Now you have got some money, some fame, a thousands miles up from Harlem
Still, a writer is never satisfied, even following the Cumberland to stardom

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Ten years past, five gold records last, you’re about to go on at the Ryman
You see a young man, a guitarist who’s a big fan, you shake his hand
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Up on the stage, with everything made, you smile as the lights darken
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You found sweet success, with God’s bless, you followed the Cumberland to stardom
Yes, you followed the Cumberland to stardom.