I used to listen to the Opry when I was just a child
Porter on his J200 would drive the whole crowd wild
Lester played a 28
Ernest had his Epiphone
Some of us can still recall Hank and his Herringbone
Then along came the '60s
TV's makin' stars
They took some good old country boys
And cased up their guitars
When the cameras started rolling
They were out there all alone
With nothing to hold on to
But a handheld microphone
Country boy keep on strumming
Don't put down your guitar
In your heart you know it ain't worth it
Just to be a TV star
Remember Waylon Jennings
And the way it used to be
Hand mics killed country music
And that's what's killing me
Last night I had a dream
About all those old guitars
And the boys who used to play them
In the dance halls in the bars
Hank Snow and young Buck Owens
Johnny Cash, and Lefty too
They knew you have to hold a guitar
If you wanna moan the blues
Country boy keep on strumming
Don't put down that guitar
In your heart it just ain't worth it
Just to be a TV star
Remember Jimmy Rogers
And the way it used to be
Hand mics killed country music
And that's what's killing me
Hand mics killed country music
And that's what's killing me