Merle Haggard – Leonard (Guitar)

D                   G        D
When Leonard finally came to California

       G                D         A
He was twenty-one years old as I recall

  D                  G                D
He loved to write a song and pick the guitar

    G                  A              D
And he came to hang a Gold one on the wall.

     Bm                            G
The town in which he lived is not important

  G                          D                     A
But you'll know which town I mean by the time I'm thru

    Bm                    G
He soon became a famous entertainer

     G             A             D
But leonard was a name he never used

D             G                     D
He was on his way to having what he wanted

 G              D                 A
Just about as close as one could be

    D               G              D
Hey! Once he even followed Elvis Presley

    G                   A               D
And he wrote a lot of country songs for me.

       Bm                           G
But he laid it all aside to follow Jesus

    G            D                  A
For years he chose to let his music go

     Bm                               G
But preaching wasn't really meant for leonard

      G                 A                  D
But how in the hell was leonard s'posed to know.

   D                 G                   D
Well, life began to twist its way around him

   G                D                  A
And I wondered how he carried such a load

        D             G              D
He came back again to try his luck in music

    G                 A              D
And lost his wife and family on the road.

     Bm                               G
After that he seemed to bog down even deeper

  G                      D                  A
And I saw what booze and pills could really do

     Bm                            G
And I wondered if I'd ever see him sober

    G                 A                   D
But I forgot about a Friend that leonard knew.

  D                G           D
Well, leonard gave me lots of inspiration

     G                     D              A
He helped teach me how to write a country song

        D             G              D
And he even brought around a bag of groceries

       G          A             D
Hey! Back before Muskogee came along.

     Bm                            G
Really I'm not trying to hide his showname

       G                D         A
Or the town in which this episode began

          Bm                               G
Spoken: [Somehow I had to write a song for old Tommy]

    G                 A                   D
If just to see the smilin' faces in the band.

D                    G        D
When leonard finally came to California

       G                D         A
He was twenty-one years old as I recall

  D                  G                D
And he loved to write a song and pick the guitar

    G                      A         D
And he came to hang a Gold one on the wall.