One On The Right Is On The Left, The

"The One on the Right Is on the Left" is a country song written by Jack Clement. It was recorded by Johnny Cash on November 29, 1965 and included on his album Everybody Loves a Nut (1966).

DOWNLOAD THE SONGSHEET

The One On The Right Is On The Left (WORD)
The One On The Right Is On The Left (PDF)

YOU CAN PLAY IN THE SAME KEY AS JOHNNY CASH IN GCEA TUNING, IF YOU PUT YOUR CAPO ON THE 2ND FRET.  Be aware though -  I've "smoothed out" the timing at the end of the choruses.

"The One on the Right Is on the Left" was the album's third and most successful single reaching number two on the U.S. Billboard Country Singles chart and forty-six on Billboard's Pop Singles chart.

The song is a humorous criticism of musicians that put their political views into their music. It tells the story of a folk song group that is "long on musical ability", but ultimately breaks up due to political differences. At the end of the song, a warning is given not to mix politics with one's music.

The punch line to the joke is that "the guy in the rear", is less easily labeled: he is a Methodist and he burned his driver's license (rather than his draft card), etc. Indeed, the song closes by stating that he got drafted.

Share Tweet Send
0 Comments
Loading...