Bb5 Eb5 F5 Bb5 
 
Bb5               F5  
Well I remember William 
Eb5                        Bb5 
We weren't much more than kids 
    Eb5                Bb5 
His family lived in a run down shack 
         F5                       Eb5 
Like the rest of the white trash did 
Bb5              F5 
Now me and ole William 
           Eb5                   Bb5 
We used to smoke out behind the barn 
        Eb5                        Bb5         
Til his daddy caught him stealing cigarettes 
F5                                Bb5 
I still think he broke William's arm 
Bb5                    F5 
When I was drinkin my first beer 
     Eb5                 Bb5 
Ole William was getting high 
       Eb5                       Bb5 
He got kicked out of school for fightin and drugs 
       F5                  Eb5 
And he stayed out late at night 
Bb5                 F5 
He never said too much about home 
        Eb5             Bb5 
Or the bruises on his back 
Eb5          Bb5 
I asked him about em one time 
       F5               Eb5 
But he never answered back 
 
Chorus: 
Eb5 
Yeah William 
     F5               Bb5 
You grew up hard and mean 
    Eb5                        Bb5 
You weren't the apple of your mama's eye 
         F5                      Eb5 
And your daddy was a burned out fiend 
Bb5                      F5 
For what it's worth now William 
           Eb5                      Bb5 
I know you could've had a heart of gold 
            Eb5                           Bb5 
But I don't think you ever knew that you had one 
         F5                  Bb5   Eb5  F5  Bb5 
I don't think you were ever told 
 

Bb5                 F5  
He spent a year in reform school 
         Eb5                  Bb5 
Cause he broke in a hardware store 
Eb5                                Bb5 
Now me and William lost track of each other 
         F5             Eb5 
I never saw him much anymore 
Bb5                  F5 
The last time I seen William 
       Eb5                  Bb5 
He was married and had two kids 
            Eb5                   Bb5 
He tried to raise em like he was supposed to 
                 F5                        Eb5 
But sometimes he raised em like his daddy did 
 
(Chorus) 
Bb5                    F5   
Well just last Sunday mornin 
      Eb5               Bb5 
Momma called me on the phone 
                Eb5                     Bb5 
Said there's a story in the paper about William 
                   F5             Eb5 
She just thought I might like to know 
Bb5               F5 
He got shot by a city cop 
             Eb5              Bb5 
While he was robbin a local drugstore 
       Eb5                     Bb5 
He was survived by two hungry kids, a wife 
      F5                    Eb5 
and a pool of blood on the floor 
 
(Chorus)