William's Son Songtext

von Chris Knight

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 n ole William
Used to smoke out by the barn
'till his daddy caught him stealin' cigarettes
I still think he broke Williams arm
[Chorus]
Yea William, you grew up hard and mean
You weren't the apple of your mammas eye
And your daddy was a burned out fiend
For what it's worth now William
I know you coulda had a heart of gold
I don't think you ever knew that you had one
I don't think you were ever told.
When I was drinkin' my first beer
Ole William was gettin' high
He got kicked outta school for fightin' and drugs
And he stayed out late at night

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]
Yea William, you grew up hard and mean
You weren't the apple of your mamma's eye
And your daddy was a burned out fiend
For what it's worth now William
I know you coulda had a heart of gold
I don't think you ever knew that you had one
I don't think you were ever told.
Just last Sunday mornin'
Mamma 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 drug store
He was survived by two hungry kids a wife
And a pool of blood on the floor
[Chorus]