My papa was a hobo when they delivered me We didn't have a doctor cause he couldn't pay the fee But when the goin' got too bad to ease his misery Now papa played the dobro this way and he'd go [ Dobro ] When company would come around he kept the dobro hid He knew he couldn't play the way the other players did But the guitar's resonator was a gallon bucket lid But papa played the dobro this way and he'd go [ Dobro ] Well now that papa's gone away it's hanging by the flue The top of it is busted and the strings are rusty too It will never sound the way it did when it was new When papa played the dobro this way and he'd go [ Dobro ] And he'd go pam pam