You'd have thought a king had died

The way those people cried

Instead of one more broken entertainer

It struck those in his trade

He could have had it made

If he'd only been a little saner

They traveled far to see him

Oh, the humble and the high

They said goodbye as if he were a friend

Now somewhere he is smiling

On those who idolized him

But would they even recognize him

If he came back again?

He was born of modest means

But had outrageous dreams

They never let him rest

Till he fulfilled them

While he rode that train of song

His devils tagged along

The whiskey and the pills

Just couldn't kill him

He didn't mean to be a rebel

Nor the real ones never do

They're born apart from ordinary men

And somewhere he is smiling

On those who sanctified him

But would they even recognize him

If he came back again?

And it's an old familiar story

But it's a damn shame none the less

They don't forgive his kind

Until they lay them down to rest

And somewhere he is smiling

On those who idolized him

But would they even recognize him

If he came back again?

If he came back again

Back again