"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, his songs' lyrics were often about the lives and the economic exploitation of Ameri ...

, written by Travis, Eddie Kirk, and Cliffie Stone.

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." Name Lucky Strike was introduced as a brand of plug tobacco (chew ...

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 as a violinist on the vaudeville circuit to one of the leading entertainers of the twentieth century with ...

and ''

Your Hit Parade ''Your Hit Parade'' is 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 "Johnny" Bond (June 1, 1915 – June 12, 1978) was an American country music singer-songwriter, guitarist and composer and publisher, who co-founded a music publishing firm. He was active in the music industry from 1940 until the ...

, 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), marked ...

. *

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

covered the song on his 1954 album ''Eddy Arnold: An American Institution'' and his 1956 album ''A Dozen Hits''. * Ricky Skaggs covered the song on his 1981 album '' Waitin' for the Sun to Shine''.

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