Two packs of cigarettes a day  The strongest whiskey   Kentucky can make  That's a recipe to put a vagabond  On his hands and knees  I watched it all up close,  I knew him more than most  I saw a side of him he never showed  Full of sympathy for a world that  Wouldn't let him be    That's the man he was,  Have you heard enough?    [Chorus]  What a shame, what a shame,  To judge a life that you can't change  The choir sings, the church bells ring  So, won't you give this man his wings?  What a shame to have to beg you to  See we're not all the same  What a shame    There's a hard life for every silver spoon  There's a touch of grey for every shade  Of blue  That's the way that I see life  If there was nothing wrong,  Then there'd be nothing right  And for this working man they say could  Barely stand  There's gotta be a better place to land  Some kind of remedy for a world that  Wouldn't let him be    That's the man he was,  Have you heard enough?    [Chorus]  What a shame, what a shame,  To judge a life that you can't change  The choir sings, the church bells ring  So, won't you give this man his wings?  What a shame to have to beg you to  See we're not all the same  What a shame    God forgive the hands that laid you down  They never knew how, but your broken  Heart can break the sound  And change the season  Now the leaves are falling faster,   Happily ever after  You gave me hope through your endeavors  And now you will live forever    [Chorus]  What a shame, what a shame,  To judge a life that you can't change  The choir sings, the church bells ring  So, won't you give this man his wings?  What a shame to have to beg you to  See we're not all the same  What a shame, what a shame  'Cause we're not all the same  What a shame, what a shame  'Cause we're not all the same