Gordon Lightfoot - The Auctioneer lyrics

Hey well all right sir, open the gate Let'em out and walk'em boys Here we come with lot number twenty-nine What are you gonna give for the little fella Well there was a boy from arkansas who wouldn't listen to his ma When she told him that he should go to school He'd sneak away in the afternoon and take a walk and pretty soon You'd find him at the local auction barn He'd stand and listen carefully until at last he began to see How the auctioneer could talk so rapidly He said "oh my, it's do or die, i've got to learn that auction cry Gonna make my mark and be an auctioneer" Well the time went by and he did his best and all could see he did not jest He practiced calling bids both night and day Til his pappy found him behind the barn just working up an awful storm As he tried to imitate the auctioneer His pop said "son we just can't stand to have a mediocre man Selling things at auction using our good name Gonna send you off to auction school and then you'll be nobody's fool And you can take your place among the best" And from that boy that went to school there grew a man who played it cool He come back home a full fledged auctioneer And the people would come from miles around Just to hear him make that rhythmic sound That filled their hearts with such a happy cheer And his fame spread out from shore to shore He'd all that he could do and more He had to buy a plane to get around Now he's the best in all the land, let's pause and give that man a hand For he's the best of all the auctioneers