"So Round, So Firm, So Fully Packed" is a 1947 song by

Merle Travis Merle Robert Travis (November 29, 1917 – October 20, 1983) was an American country and western singer, songwriter, and guitarist born in Rosewood, Kentucky, United States. His songs' lyrics often discussed both the lives and the economic expl ...

, written by Travis, Eddie Kirk, and

Cliffie Stone Clifford Gilpin Snyder (March 1, 1917 – January 17, 1998), professionally Cliffie Stone, was an American country music, country singer, musician, record producer, Music publisher (popular music), music publisher, and radio and TV personality ...

Background

The song describes a woman through the use of advertising slogans. The slogan "So round, so firm, so fully packed, so free and easy on the draw" was used in the

Lucky Strike Lucky Strike is an American brand of cigarettes owned by the British American Tobacco group. Individual cigarettes of the brand are often referred to colloquially as "Luckies." Throughout their 150 year history, Lucky Strike has had fluctuating ...

brand cigarette advertising of the time, first heard in 1944 on the

Jack Benny Jack Benny (born Benjamin Kubelsky, February 14, 1894 – December 26, 1974) was an American entertainer who evolved from a modest success playing violin on the vaudeville circuit to one of the leading entertainers of the twentieth century with ...

and ''

Your Hit Parade ''Your Hit Parade'' was an American radio and television music program that was broadcast from 1935 to 1953 on radio, and seen from 1950 to 1959 on television. It was sponsored by American Tobacco's Lucky Strike cigarettes. During its 24-year r ...

'' radio programs. "I'd walk a mile" is a slogan for Camel cigarettes. "Just ask the man who owns one" refers to Packard automobiles. "She's got the pause that's so refreshing" is a reference to the Coca-Cola slogan "The Pause that Refreshes".

Chart performance

The song was Travis' second number one on the Folk Juke Box charts, where it stayed at number one for 14 weeks and a total of 21 weeks on the chart.

Cover Versions

*In 1947 it was also a #3 hit for

Johnny Bond Cyrus Whitfield Bond (June 1, 1915 – June 12, 1978), known professionally as Johnny Bond, was an American country music singer-songwriter, guitarist and composer and publisher, who co-founded a music publishing firm, he was active in the musi ...

, and a #5 hit for

Ernest Tubb Ernest Dale Tubb (February 9, 1914 – September 6, 1984), nicknamed the Texas Troubadour, was an American singer and songwriter and one of the pioneers of country music. His biggest career hit song, "Walking the Floor Over You" (1941), m ...

. *

Eddy Arnold Richard Edward Arnold (May 15, 1918 – May 8, 2008) was an American country music singer who performed for six decades. He was a Nashville sound (country/popular music) innovator of the late 1950s, and scored 147 songs on the ''Billboard'' cou ...

covered the song on his 1954 album ''Eddy Arnold: An American Institution'' and his 1956 album ''A Dozen Hits''. *

Ricky Skaggs Rickie Lee Skaggs (born July 18, 1954), known professionally as Ricky Skaggs, is an American neotraditional country and bluegrass singer, musician, producer, and composer. He primarily plays mandolin; however, he also plays fiddle, guitar, ma ...

covered the song on his 1981 album ''

Waitin' for the Sun to Shine ''Waitin' for the Sun to Shine'' is the third studio album from Ricky Skaggs. It was released in 1981 on Epic Records. Skaggs himself produced the album, and played on all the songs. Four of the ten tracks were released as singles; "Don't Get ...

''.

References

1946 songs 1947 singles Merle Travis songs Johnny Bond songs Songs written by Merle Travis Songs written by Cliffie Stone {{1940s-country-song-stub