Standard (EADGBE)

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...