The Year That Clayton Delaney Died

I remember the year that Clayton Delaney died
They said for the last two weeks that he suffered and cried
It made a big impression on me, although I was a barefoot kid
They said, he got religion at the end and Im glad that he didClayton was the best guitar picker in our town
I thought he was a hero and I used to follow Clayton around
I often wondered why Clayton, who seemed so good to me
Never took his guitar and made it down in Tenn-o-seeWell, daddy said, he drank a lot, but I could never understand
I knew he used to pick up in Ohio with a five-piece band
And Clayton used to tell me, "Son you better put that old guitar away"
There aint no money in it, itll lead you to an early graveI guess if Id admit it, Clayton taught me how to drink booze
I can see him half-stoned a-pickin out the lovesick blues
When Clayton died I made him a promise, I was gonna carry on somehow
Id give a hundred dollars if he could only see me nowI remember the year that Clayton Delaney died
Nobody ever knew it but I went out in the woods and I cried
Well, I know theres a lotta big preachers that know a lot more than I do
But it could be that the good Lord likes a little pickin tooYeah, I remember the year that Clayton Delaney died