Recorded by: Merle Haggard
Written by: Merle Haggard
When [1] LEONARD finally [4] came to Cali-for-[1] nia
He was twen-[4] ty-one years [1] old as I recall [5]
He [1] loved to write a song [4] and pick the gui-[1] tar
And he [4] came to hang a Gold [5] one on the [1] wall.
The town [6m] in which he lived is not impor-[4] tant
But you'll know which town I mean [1] by the time I'm thru [5]
He [6m] soon became a famous enter-[4] tainer
But LEONARD was a name [5] he never used [1].
He was on his way to having what he wanted
Just about as close as one could be
Hey! once he even followed Elvis Presley
And he wrote a lot of country songs for me.
But he laid it all aside to follow Jesus
For years he chose to let his music go
But preaching wasn't really meant for LEONARD
But how in the hell was LEONARD s'posed to know.
Well, life began to twist its way around him
And I wondered how he carried such a load
He came back again to try his luck in music
And lost his wife and family on the road.
SPOKEN:
[After that he seemed to bog down even deeper
And I saw what booze and pills could really do
And I wondered if I'd ever see him sober
But I forgot about a Friend that LEONARD knew.]
Well, LEONARD gave me lots of inspiration
He helped teach me how to write a country song
And he even brought around a bag of groceries
Hey! back before Muskogee came along.
Really I'm not trying to hide his showname
Or the town in which this episode began
SPOKEN: [Somehow I had to write a song for old Tommy]
If just to see the smilin' faces in the band.
When [1] LEONARD finally [4] came to Cali-for-[1] nia
He was twen-[4] ty-one years [1] old as I recall [5]
And he [1] loved to write a song [4] and pick the gui-[1] tar
And he [4] came to hang a Gold [5] one on the [1] wall.
SOURCE:
MERLE HAGGARD-DOWN EVERY ROAD
Written by: Merle Haggard
When [1] LEONARD finally [4] came to Cali-for-[1] nia
He was twen-[4] ty-one years [1] old as I recall [5]
He [1] loved to write a song [4] and pick the gui-[1] tar
And he [4] came to hang a Gold [5] one on the [1] wall.
The town [6m] in which he lived is not impor-[4] tant
But you'll know which town I mean [1] by the time I'm thru [5]
He [6m] soon became a famous enter-[4] tainer
But LEONARD was a name [5] he never used [1].
He was on his way to having what he wanted
Just about as close as one could be
Hey! once he even followed Elvis Presley
And he wrote a lot of country songs for me.
But he laid it all aside to follow Jesus
For years he chose to let his music go
But preaching wasn't really meant for LEONARD
But how in the hell was LEONARD s'posed to know.
Well, life began to twist its way around him
And I wondered how he carried such a load
He came back again to try his luck in music
And lost his wife and family on the road.
SPOKEN:
[After that he seemed to bog down even deeper
And I saw what booze and pills could really do
And I wondered if I'd ever see him sober
But I forgot about a Friend that LEONARD knew.]
Well, LEONARD gave me lots of inspiration
He helped teach me how to write a country song
And he even brought around a bag of groceries
Hey! back before Muskogee came along.
Really I'm not trying to hide his showname
Or the town in which this episode began
SPOKEN: [Somehow I had to write a song for old Tommy]
If just to see the smilin' faces in the band.
When [1] LEONARD finally [4] came to Cali-for-[1] nia
He was twen-[4] ty-one years [1] old as I recall [5]
And he [1] loved to write a song [4] and pick the gui-[1] tar
And he [4] came to hang a Gold [5] one on the [1] wall.
SOURCE:
MERLE HAGGARD-DOWN EVERY ROAD
