Golden Guitar - Bill Anderson

I happened to walk into a honky tonk

One night down in New Orleans

Up above the bar hung a big guitar

Like none I’d ever seen

The neck was set with diamonds

And though the strings were old

Like Kings of sound they wound around

Six keys of solid gold

A man stepped up beside me

His breath was strong with wine

He said you know that guitar once belonged

To a mighty close pal of mine

He used to play it right here

I forget the year around '45, I think

Ha, I could tell you quite a story friend

If you’d care to buy me a drink

Well, I possessed by every weakness

That takes a man a fool

I bought a round, he drank it down

And then he rocked back on his stool

He said, Yeah, I remember now

It was '45 alright

He just returned from the Great War

That’s where he lost his sight

His buddies gave him that guitar

At the time it was simple and plain

He added the gold and the diamonds

As he played his way to fame

He was doing a show in Shreveport

The night he received a call

To come appear on the Grand Ole Opry

The greatest show at all

I was driving him to Nashville

It was cold and misting rain

The signals flashed and the whistle screamed

I swear Mister I never saw that train

I heard the doctor tell him

Just after he used his knife

You’re lucky son it was just your arm

It could have been your life

But he died that night, life just demanded

More than he could give

I think he couldn’ve made it

He just lost his will to live

But this world’s loss is heaven’s gain

And tonight he’s still a star

He plays with a band of angels

That’s my son’s golden guitar…