LEONARD 
Recorded by: Merle Haggard 
Written by: Merle Haggard 

When D LEONARD finally G came to Cali-for-D nia 
He was twen-G ty-one years D old as I recall A  
He D loved to write a song G and pick the gui-D tar 
And he G came to hang a Gold A one on the D wall. 

The town Bm in which he lived is not impor-G tant 
But you'll know which town I mean D by the time I'm thru {5}  
He Bm soon became a famous enter-G tainer 
But LEONARD was a name A he never used D.  

He was on his way to having what he wanted 
Just about as close as one could be 
Hey! once he even followed Elvis Presley 
And he wrote a lot of country songs for me. 

But he laid it all aside to follow Jesus 
For years he chose to let his music go 
But preaching wasn't really meant for LEONARD 
But how in the hell was LEONARD s'posed to know. 

Well, life began to twist its way around him 
And I wondered how he carried such a load 
He came back again to try his luck in music 
And lost his wife and family on the road. 

SPOKEN: 
{After that he seemed to bog down even deeper 
And I saw what booze and pills could really do 
And I wondered if I'd ever see him sober 
But I forgot about a Friend that LEONARD knew.} 

Well, LEONARD gave me lots of inspiration 
He helped teach me how to write a country song 
And he even brought around a bag of groceries 
Hey! back before Muskogee came along. 

Really I'm not trying to hide his showname 
Or the town in which this episode began 
SPOKEN: {Somehow I had to write a song for old Tommy} 
If just to see the smilin' faces in the band. 

When D LEONARD finally G came to Cali-for-D nia 
He was twen-G ty-one years D old as I recall A  
And he D loved to write a song G and pick the gui-D tar 
And he G came to hang a Gold A one on the D wall. 

SOURCE: 
MERLE HAGGARD-DOWN EVERY ROAD