INTRO: D

(Waylon Jennings:)
D
You'd have thought a king had died
D
The way those people cried
G                          D
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:)
A
They traveled far to see him
(Kris Kristofferson:)
D                       G
Oh, the humble and the high
(Waylon Jennings:)
D                    Bm             F#m
They said goodbye as if he were a friend

Chorus:
(All:)
A
Now somewhere he is smiling
D                     G
On those who idolized him
D                    Bm      F#m
But would they even recognize him
A                D
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:)
A
It's an old familiar story
(Kris Kristofferson:)
D                              G
But it's a damn shame none-the-less
(Willie Nelson:)
D
They don't forgive his kind
(Johnny Cash:)
D                           A
Till they lay them down to rest