Hank Williams, he came up from Montgomery,
With heart full of broken country songs
But Nashville, Tennessee didn't really understand him,
'Cause he did things differently than the way that they were done
But when he finally made it to the Grand Old Opry,
He made it stand still
He ended up on alcohol and pills
Elvis Presley, he came up from Jackson,
With a brand new way of singing, lord
And a brand new way of dancing,
And even from the waist up, lord, he gave the world a thrill
He ended up on alcohol and pills
Alcohol and pills, it's a crying shame,
You'd think they might've been happy with the glory and the fame
But fame doesn't take away the pain, it just pays the bills,
And you wind up on alcohol and pills
Janis Joplin, she was wild and reckless,
And then there was Gram Parsons, lord
And then there was Jimi Hendrix,
The story just goes on and on, and I guess it always will
They ended up on alcohol and pills
Alcohol and pills, it's a crying shame,
You'd think they might've been happy with the glory and the fame
But fame doesn't take away the pain, it just pays the bills,
And you wind up on alcohol and pills
Sometimes somebody just doesn't wake up one day,
Sometimes it's a heart attack, sometimes they just don't say
But they pulled poor, old Hank Williams,
Out of a Cadillac Coupe de Ville
He ended up on alcohol and pills
Alcohol and pills, it's a crying shame,
You'd think they might've been happy with the glory and the fame
But fame doesn't take away the pain, it just pays the bills,
And you wind up on alcohol and pills
And you wind up on alcohol and pills
With heart full of broken country songs
But Nashville, Tennessee didn't really understand him,
'Cause he did things differently than the way that they were done
But when he finally made it to the Grand Old Opry,
He made it stand still
He ended up on alcohol and pills
Elvis Presley, he came up from Jackson,
With a brand new way of singing, lord
And a brand new way of dancing,
And even from the waist up, lord, he gave the world a thrill
He ended up on alcohol and pills
Alcohol and pills, it's a crying shame,
You'd think they might've been happy with the glory and the fame
But fame doesn't take away the pain, it just pays the bills,
And you wind up on alcohol and pills
Janis Joplin, she was wild and reckless,
And then there was Gram Parsons, lord
And then there was Jimi Hendrix,
The story just goes on and on, and I guess it always will
They ended up on alcohol and pills
Alcohol and pills, it's a crying shame,
You'd think they might've been happy with the glory and the fame
But fame doesn't take away the pain, it just pays the bills,
And you wind up on alcohol and pills
Sometimes somebody just doesn't wake up one day,
Sometimes it's a heart attack, sometimes they just don't say
But they pulled poor, old Hank Williams,
Out of a Cadillac Coupe de Ville
He ended up on alcohol and pills
Alcohol and pills, it's a crying shame,
You'd think they might've been happy with the glory and the fame
But fame doesn't take away the pain, it just pays the bills,
And you wind up on alcohol and pills
And you wind up on alcohol and pills