I.O.U.
Jimmy Dean

Many people look through their wallet or their pocket books and, way down at the bottom, past the credit cards and baby pictures and so on, you usually find a little 'ol piece of dog-eared poetry. I was cleaning out my wallet the other day and ran across a whole bunch of I.O.U's, some of 'em thirty-five years overdue. And you know the funny thing, all these I.O.U's are owed to one person and I kinda felt like that maybe now would be a pretty good time for an accountin'.

Mom, I sure hope you're listenin'.
Sweet lady, I.O.U. for so many things...
A lot of services, like night watchman for instance...
Lyin' awake nights, listenin' for coughs and cries and creakin' floorboards
Ha ha, and me comin' in too late.
Boy, you had the eye of an eagle and the roar of a lion,
But you always had a heart as big as a house.
I.O.U. for services like, uh, short order cook, chef, baker...
For makin' sirloin out o' hamburger an' turkey out o' tuna fish,
And big ol' strappin' boys out of leftovers.
I.O.U. for cleanin' services,
The daily scrubbing of face and ears...all work done by hand.
And for the frequent dustin' of a small boy's pants
To try to make sure that you led a spotless life.
And for washin' and ironin' that no laundry could ever do.
For dryin' the tears of childhood
And ironin' out the problems of growin' up.
I.O.U. for services as a bodyguard,
For protectin' me from the terrors of thunderstorms and nightmares
Ha, and too many green apples.
And Lord knows, I.O.U. for medical attention,
For nursing me through measles, mumps, bruises,
Bumps, splinters and spring fever.
Oh-oh, let's not forget medical advice...important things like,
If you keep on scratching that, it'll never get well. or
If you cross your eyes, they're gonna stick like that..
And probably the most important advice of all,
Boy, you be sure you got on clean underwear, in case you're in an accident.
And I.O.U. for veterinarian services,
For feeding every lost dog that I dragged home at the end of the rope,
And for healing the pains of puppy love.
And I.O.U. for entertainment...
Entertainment that kept the household goin' through some pretty rough times...
And for wonderful productions at Christmas, the Fourth of July, birthdays...
And for making make-believe come true...
And you did it all on such a limited budget.
I.O.U. for construction work, for building kites and confidence, hopes and dreams and...
Somehow you made them all touch the sky...
And for cementin' together a family
So it would stand the worst kind of shocks and blows...
And for layin' down a good strong foundation to build a life on.
I.O.U. for carrier charges...
For carryin' me on your books for the necessities of life
That a growin' boy somehow, well, they just gotta have.
Things like, ha ha, a pair of high top boots,
With a little pocket on the side for a jackknife.
And one thing, Mom, I'll never forget...
When there were two pieces of pie and three hungry people...
You were always the one who decided, well, I'm not really that hungry anyhow.
These are just a few of the things for which payment is long overdue...
The person that I owe 'em to worked very, very cheap...
She managed by simply doin' without a whole lot o' things that she needed herself...
My I.O.U's add up to more than I could ever hope to repay,
But you know the nicest thing about it all...
That I know, that she had marked the entire bill 'Paid In Full'
For just one kiss and four little words...Mom, I love you!


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Lyrics by Jimmy Dean

  A Thing Called Love   Abilene   Ain't Life Sweet   Ain't Life Sweet   All By Myself   All I Have To Offer You Is Me   And I'm Still Missing You   And I'm Still Missing You   Anytime   Are You From Dixie   Aunt Maudie's Fun Garden   Aunt Maudie's Fun Garden   Aura Lee   Back Home Again In Indiana   Back In Your Own Backyard   Basin Street Blues   Be Honest With Me   Beautiful Isle Of Somewhere   Beautiful Isle Of Somewhere   Big Bad John   Big Bad John [Album Version]   Big John   Big Railroad Man   Blues Stay Away From Me   Bummin' Around   Bummin' Around   Bye Bye Baby   Cajun Queen   Carolina Moon   Chattanooga Shoeshine Boy   Darktown Poker Club   Dear Heart   Dear Ivan   Deep Blue Sea   Do You Love Me   Don't Want To Live Without Honey   Don't Want To Live Without Honey   End Of The World   Faded Love   Farmer And The Lord   First Thing Ev'ry Morning   First Thing Ev'ry Morning (And The Last Thing Ev'r...   First Thing Ev'ry Morning (And The Last Thing...   For The Good Times   Freight Train Blues   Freight Train Blues   Glad Rags   Gonna Raise A Ruckus Tonight   Gotta Travel On   Grasshopper Mac Clain   Hang Your Head In Shame   Harvest Of Sunshine   Have You Ever Been Lonely   Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas   Hello Mr. Blues   Here Comes My Baby Back Again   Home On The Range   I Got You   I Know What It Means To Be Lonesome   I Really Don't Want To Know   I Really Don't Want To Know   I Was Just Walkin' Out The Door   I Wish I Didn't Have To Miss You   I Wish I Didn't Have To Miss You   I Wish You Had Turned To Me   I Won't Go Huntin' With You Jake   I Won't Go Huntin' With You Jake   I. O. U.   I'll Fly Away   I'll Never Stand In Your Way   I'll Fly Away   I'll Never Stand In Your Way   If It's Wrong To Love You   If It's Wrong To Love You   If The Whole World Stopped Lovin'   If The Whole World Stopped Lovin'   In The Garden   In The Garden   In The Same Old Way   Intro (songs We All Love Best)   It Is No Secret (What God Can Do)   It Keeps Right On A Hurtin'   It Keeps Right On A Hurtin'   It'll Be Easy   It'll Be Easy   Jackson   January April And Me   Jean   Jim I Wore A Tie Today   Just A Closer Walk With Thee   Just A Little Talk With Jesus   Kentucky Means Paradise   Let It Be Me   Let The Rest Of The World Go By   Let's Talk About Love   Let's Talk About Love   Life's Railway To Heaven   Life's Railway To Heaven   Little Black Book   Little Sandy Sleighfoot   Little Things   Looks Like This Is Gonna Be May Day   Losing Game   Love Looks Good On You   Make The Waterwheel Roll   Make The World Go Away   Mama Sang A Song   Medley:   Mile Long Train   Mind Your Own Business   Money Marbles And Chalk   Most Richly Blessed   My Own Peculiar Way   My Way Of Life   Never Is A Long Long Day   Night Train To Memphis   Nine Pound Hammer   No One Will Ever Know   Nobody   North South East Or West   Nothing Can Stop My Love   Now Everybody Knows   Okie From Muskogee   Oklahoma Bill   Old Rivers   Old Time Religion   Old Time Religion   Once A Day   One Last Time   One You Say Good Mornin' To   One You Say Good Mornin' To   P. T. 109   Pass Me Not   Peace In The Valley   Please Pass The Biscuits   Precious Memories   PT 109   PT-109   Pt.109   Put It Off Until Tomorrow   Put On Your Old Grey Bonnet   Rainbow Girl   Read 'em And Weep   Read 'em And Weep   Remember Me (i'm The One Who Loves You)   Remember Me (I'm The One Who Loves You)   Reuben James   Rock Of Ages   Rocky Top   Rose Is A Rose Is A Rose   Ruby Don't Take Your Love To Town   Ruby Don't Take Your Love To Town   Same Old You   She Burned the Little Roadside Tavern Down   She Goes Walking Through My Mind   She Thinks I Still Care   Shenandoah   Shutters And Boards   Singing My Song   Sixteen Tons   Skip A Rope   Slowly   Smoke Smoke Smoke That Cigarette   Someday (you'll Want Me To Want You)   Someday (You'll Want Me To Want You)   Stand Beside Me   Standing In The Need Of Prayer   Steel Men   Sweet Georgia Brown   Sweet Hour Of Prayer   Sweet Misery   Sweet Thang   Take My Hand Precious Lord   Talk To Me Baby   Tears On My Pillow   The Cajun Queen   The Farmer and the Lord   There Goes My Last Reason For Living   There Shall Be Showers Of Blessing   These Hands   These Hands   Thing Called Love   This Ole House   Till Tomorrow   Time Changes Everything   Tiny Drop Of Sadness   To A Sleeping Beauty   To Get To You   Too Many Times   True Love's A Blessing   True Love's A Blessing   Try A Little Tenderness   Under The Sun   Us   Wait For The Wagon   Weakness In A Man   What This Old World Needs   When I Grow Too Old to Dream   When It's Sleepy Time Down South   When It's Sleepy Time Down South   When The Roll Is Called Up Yonder   When They Ring Those Golden Bells   When Your Old Wedding Ring Was New   White Silver Sands   Who Put The Leaving In Your Eyes   You Only Think Of Me (when You're Lonely)   You Only Think Of Me (When You're Lonely)   Your Country Boy   Yours Love

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