Ol' William in school Readin' a Bible, we laughed till we was blue Ol' William said a prayer at noon Over his lunch and we hit him with a spoon Yes, William, the kids were cruel But, I saw something different in you The impression you made put the seed in me That began to grow when I first believed Ol' William on the street Hymn singin', testifyin', and they called him "preacher" I was there when they put him down But I want to say that I've come around Now, William, ain't it strange After all these years I'm doing the very same things I laughed about way back there And the example you set Causes me to want to be The same kind of livin' testimony Oh, William, I wish you were here I'd apologize for callin' you weird But I'm sure you forgave me even then So I love you William, like my best friend