INTRO:
(Waylon Jennings:)
You'd have thought a king had died
The way those people cried
Instead of one more broken entertainer
(Kris Kristofferson:)
It struck those in his trade
He could have had it made
If he'd only been a little saner
(Waylon Jennings:)
They traveled far to see him
(Kris Kristofferson:)
Oh, the humble and the high
(Waylon Jennings:)
They said goodbye as if he were a friend
Chorus:
(All:)
Now somewhere he is smiling
On those who idolized him
But would they even recognize him
If he came back again?
(Willie Nelson:)
He was born of modest means
But had outrageous dreams
They never let him rest
Till he fulfilled them
(Johnny Cash:)
While he rode that train of song
His devils tagged along
The whiskey and the pills
Just couldn't kill him
(Willie Nelson:)
He didn't mean to be a rebel
(Johnny Cash:)
Ah, the real ones never do
(Willie Nelson:)
They're born apart from ordinary men
Chorus...
(Waylon Jennings:)
It's an old familiar story
(Kris Kristofferson:)
But it's a damn shame none-the-less
(Willie Nelson:)
They don't forgive his kind
(Johnny Cash:)
Till they lay them down to rest
Chorus...