About The Song
In 1995, John Michael Montgomery showed off his fast-singing skills in his spirited and humorous single, “Sold (The Grundy County Auction Incident).” The song, which has become a classic singalong in country music, finds Montgomery attending the Grundy County auction and spotting a lady he’d like to take home with him. He then uses auctioneer language to describe how he feels about the woman.
“I’m goin’ once, goin’ twice, I’m sold to the lady in the second row / She’s an eight, she’s a nine, she’s a ten I know / She’s got ruby red lips, blond hair, blue eyes / And I’m about to bid my heart good-bye,” sings Montgomery.
The tune hit the No. 1 spot in both the US and Canada and has become one of the singer’s best-known songs. “Sold (The Grundy County Auction Incident)” was written by Richard Fagan and Robb Royer, and it was inspired by a conversation they had while at the Boardwalk Café in Tennessee. Fagan explained to NSAI and The Tennessean that Royer had met a “slow-talking Tennesseean guy” who worked as an auctioneer, and that’s what the idea for the song was born.
“He said, ‘Could we write a song about an auction?’ I said, ‘Sure. I know there’s only one song — ‘The Auctioneer’ by Leroy Van Dyke, and I don’t really know how it goes, so let’s have at it,'” Fagan said of his conversation with Royer.
The hook of the song is undoubtedly when Montgomery sings the “goin’ once, goin’ twice” line, and Fagan said that line almost didn’t make it in the song.
“We got a good start on it, maybe a first verse and part of the chorus. I said, ‘Hey, man, how about we say, ‘I’m going once, going twice, sold?’ And he said, ‘No,'” said Fagan of writing the song with Royer. “But he called me up about a half hour later [and changed his mind].”
Fagan explained that the music industry at the time was looking for songs similar to Montgomery’s previous hit, “Be My Baby Tonight,” and the songwriter believes they took “Sold (The Grundy Country Auction Incident)” to the next level.
“The tip sheets at the time were looking for ‘A la ‘Be My Baby Tonight,'” said Fagan. “You’ve got to out-do it. And gun to my head, I couldn’t have done it, but once we wrote that song I knew we had done it.”
The official music video for the song shows Montgomery at the Grundy Country Auction and proclaiming his love for the girl at the event. The song has gone down as one of Montgomery’s greatest hits, alongside “Cowboy Love,” “I Swear,” “I Can Love You Like That,” “Life’s A Dance,” “No Man’s Land,” and others.
Video
Lyrics
Well, I went down to the Grundy County Auction
Where I saw something I just had to have
My mind told me I should proceed with caution
But my heart said, “Go ahead and make a bid on that”
And I said
“Hey pretty lady, won’t you give me a sign?
I’d give anything to make you mine o’ mine
I’ll do your biddin’ and be at your beck and call”
Yeah, I’ve never seen anyone lookin’ so fine
Man, I gotta have her she’s a one of a kind
I’m goin’ once, goin’ twice, I’m sold
To the lady in the second row
She’s an eight, she’s a nine, she’s a ten, I know
She’s got ruby red lips, blonde hair, blue eyes
And I’m about to bid my heart goodbye
Well, the auctioneer was goin’ about a mile a minute
He was takin’ bids and callin’ them out loud
And I guess I was really gettin’ in it
‘Cause I just shouted out above the crowd
And I said
“Hey pretty lady, won’t you give me a sign?
I’d give anything to make you mine o’ mine
I’ll do your biddin’ and be at your beck and call”
Yeah, I’ve never seen anyone lookin’ so fine
Man, I gotta have her she’s a one of a kind
I’m goin’ once, goin’ twice, I’m sold
To the lady in the long black dress
Plus she won my heart, it was no contest
With her ruby red lips, blonde hair, blue eyes
Well, I’m about to bid my heart goodbye
Yeah, we found love on the auction block
And I hauled her heart away
And we still love and laugh about the way we met that day
When I said
“Hey pretty lady, won’t you give me a sign?
I’d give anything to make you mine o’ mine
I’ll do your biddin’ and be at your beck and call”
Yeah, I’ve never seen anyone lookin’ so fine
Man, I gotta have her she’s a one of a kind
I’m goin’ once, goin’ twice, I’m sold
To the lady in the second row
She’s an eight, she’s a nine, she’s a ten I know
She’s got ruby red lips, blonde hair, blue eyes
And I’m about to bid my heart goodbye
