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 Is 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 Grandad 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 Na he was a bad apple the kind of man you can't trust 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 9 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 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 just 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 ever seen that'd put a smile on my Grandaddy's face