52 Les Paul

I walked into the pawnshop

Had the guitar by my side

Walked up to the counter

Left my pride setting just outside

And all alone behind the counter was a tall thin man

He had a pair of cold dark eyes and a cigarette in his left hand

And he broke the silence when he asked me what I had in the case

I felt a lump swell up in my throat, and the shame took about my face

"Well, that's a nice guitar," what the man said to me

And still searching for the words to say, I just nodded "yes" to agree

Then he said, "Hey, wait a minute, man, I've seen this guitar before

Is that not the 52 Les Paul that belonged to Willie Moore"

"Yes sir, it is, Willie Moore was my granddad

And he died about a month ago and left me everything he had"

See my granddaddy was a musician, and he was known all over this here town

He wasn't known for his music, he wasn't known for his sound

Nah, he was a bad apple, the kind of man you can't trust

And he lacked in ambition, and all his dreams have long been dust

Just an old alcoholic, he liked to smoke whatever he could

And I was just a young man, I never really understood

I learned to drive his old pickup when I was nine years old

I memorized every crook and chase down that old gravel road

Got these scars on my knuckles and these teeth missing from my head

From drunk old men that wanted my granddaddy dead

And I've seen him kill a man one night out in the Longhorn parking lot

I still hear them screams in my dreams, thanks a lot

Since I've turned 16, I've been arrested 15 times

Well, on my way down a long hard life of crime

Mississippi State Penitentiary has been my home the last eight years

I've been living in an eight by twelve, praying I could disappear

30 days to go, the warden brought me the news

I found out I had this old guitar, and I didn't know what to do

Yeah, I thought you might know my granddaddy

Being how he's from this here town

And I could sure use the money, mister

I'm trying to settle down

Yes sir, a 1952 Les Paul still in the original case

The only thing I've ever seen that'd put a smile on my granddaddy's face