Billy Dee

Bi[G]lly Dee was seventeen when he tu[C/G]rned twenty-o[G]ne
        Fooling with some foolish things he could[D]'ve left alone
        But [G]he had to try to satisfy a th[C/G]irst he couldn't n[G]ame
        Driven towards the darkness by the d[D]evil in his v[G]eins
        All ar[C/G]ound the honky tonks,sea[G]rching for a sign
        Gettin' by on gettin' high on wo[D]men,words and wine
        Some f[G]olks called him crazy,Lord,and o[C/G]thers called him f[G]ree
        But we just called us lucky for the[D] love of Billy [G]Dee

(Three and a half tones lower)
        Bu[C/G]sy goin' his own way and sp[F]eakin' his own w[C/G]ords
        Facin' and forgettin' every war[G]nin' that he heard
        M[C/G]akin' friends and takin' any cr[F]azy chance he c[C/G]ould
        Gettin' busted for the bad times [G]and believin' in the g[C/G]ood
        Bi[F]lly took a beatin' from a wo[C/G]rld he meant no harm
        The score was written in the sc[G]ars up on his arm
        Some f[C/G]elt he was payin' for the[F] life he tried to l[C/G]ead
        But all we felt was sorry for our g[G]ood friend Billy [C/G]Dee

(Four and a half tones higher)
        It m[A]ay be his soul bigger than a[D] body's oughta[A] be
        Singin' songs and bringin' laughter to the l[E]ikes of you and me
        Cau[A]se the world he saw was sadder than th[D]e one he hoped to f[A]ind
        But it wasn't near as lonesome as [E]the one he left be[A]hind
        Yeste[D]rday they found him on the f[A]loor of his hotel
        Reachin' towards the needle,Lord,that [E]drove him down to hell
        Some f[A]olks called it suicide,oth[D]ers blame the sp[A]eed
        But we all called it crucified whe[E]n Billy Dee O.[A]D.'d