The Dollar (song)
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"The Dollar" is the title of a song written and recorded by American country music artist Jamey Johnson. It was released in late 2005 as Johnson's debut single, as well as the title track from his debut album (2006's The Dollar). The song reached #14 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs charts in early 2006, and was the only chart single from its album.

Content

The song is a mid-tempo accompanied largely by acoustic guitar and steel guitar. Its central character is a child who, upon seeing his father leaving for work, asks his mother why the father has to go to work. The mother then explains that, at work, they "pay him for his time", thus encouraging the boy to gather a dollar's worth coins from his personal collection, in an attempt to buy some time from his father, as reflected in the chorus:^[1]

"Mama, how much time will that buy me?

Is it enough for just an afternoon, a day or a whole week?

If I'm a little short, then how much more does Daddy need

To spend some time with me?"

After the young boy in the song has gathered his money, the mother calls up the father, telling him that he "[doesn't] have to chase that dollar" because the son "has one here at home".

Johnson was inspired to write the song after taking a job as a construction worker, thus causing him to be away from his own young daughter for two months.^[1]

Chart positions

References