Key: B
Introduction:
Bb F
Well I remember William
Eb Bb
We weren't much more than kids
Eb Bb
His family lived in a run down shack
F Eb
Like the rest of the white trash did
Bb F
Now me and ole William
Eb Bb
We used to smoke out behind the barn
Eb Bb
Til his daddy caught him stealing cigarettes
F Bb
I still think he broke William's arm
Bb F
When I was drinkin my first beer
Eb Bb
Ole William was getting high
Eb Bb
He got kicked out of school for fightin and drugs
F Eb
And he stayed out late at night
Bb F
He never said too much about home
Eb Bb
Or the bruises on his back
Eb Bb
I asked him about em one time
F Eb
But he never answered back
Eb
Yeah William
F Bb
You grew up hard and mean
Eb Bb
You weren't the apple of your mama's eye
F Eb
And your daddy was a burned out fiend
Bb F
For what it's worth now William
Eb Bb
I know you could've had a heart of gold
Eb Bb
But I don't think you ever knew that you had one
F Bb Eb F Bb
I don't think you were ever told
Bb F
He spent a year in reform school
Eb Bb
Cause he broke in a hardware store
Eb Bb
Now me and William lost track of each other
F Eb
I never saw him much anymore
Bb F
The last time I seen William
Eb Bb
He was married and had two kids
Eb Bb
He tried to raise em like he was supposed to
F Eb
But sometimes he raised em like his daddy did
(Chorus)
Bb F
Well just last Sunday mornin
Eb Bb
Momma called me on the phone
Eb Bb
Said there's a story in the paper about William
F Eb
She just thought I might like to know
Bb F
He got shot by a city cop
Eb Bb
While he was robbin a local drugstore
Eb Bb
He was survived by two hungry kids, a wife
F Eb
and a pool of blood on the floor
(Chorus)