Well, I didn't know him best He'd say we were friends We both rode the highways on a song So I'm writing this one here In memory of him 'Cause the King of Alabama Has gone home He was a man among men The old-school kind Had a great big heart A laid-back mind Let you hold his guitar if you broke a string If you thought he looked country Outta heard him sing From Alabama across the Rio Grande It'd be black top down with a Five B's playing Not because he loved it He did that too But he did it man 'cause that's what he was born to do, well Some people calculate moves He never had a thing to prove He just let the wind take him where it may It's a damn shame the way things go It's too bad we have to lose the good folks But the King of Alabama Has gone home And nothing good ever happens after midnight So the story goes You can't trust nobody It don't matter how close It was a friend that took him From his family I keep his chain in my pocket His son in my prayers Every stage I'm on I can feel him there Some people calculate moves He never had a thing to prove He just let the wind take him where it may It's a damn shame the way things go It's too bad we have to lose the good folks But the King of Alabama Has gone home Some people calculate moves He never had a thing to prove He just let the wind take him where it may And he'd say: Honky-tonk's the trick And get his guitar and grab a good pick And let the old tunes possess you as they're playing Well, It's a damn shame the way things go It's too bad we have to lose the good folks But the King of Alabama The King of Alabama The King of Alabama Has gone home