William

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