Back in the mountains of eastern Kentucky A young boy grew up with a dream Of playin' the Opry like all of his heroes By the time that he learned how to walk he could sing Blessed with the voice of a wild mountain songbird Quick with a kind word and a smile His songs about heartache, hard-livin' and true love Came right from the pages of life's lonely miles And his voice rang true, as his legend grew He was destined to shine like a star But he never forgot who that he was Or the friends that he made with his old guitar He wasn't a stranger to the rain or its danger Found on the highways of life Too soon it was over, the road it had ended And all we were left with was the sound of goodbye Somewhere in the mountains of eastern Kentucky A young boy is dreaming tonight Of playin' the Opry like his fallen hero Who's gone on to sing with the angels on high And a voice still rings true from the man that we knew Though his leavin' we can't understand And a new star shines bright in the heavens tonight Now that he's part of that great angel band