Billy was born in a one room shack   On the Tennessee line by the railroad track   Caught a bad fever and he went blind   And his daddy ran off about the same time      His mama didn't know what to do with the boy   So she gave him daddy's old guitar as a toy   Billy used to sit on the front porch swing   Pulling off licks and bending those strings      Playing to the rhythm of the south band train   Notes flying off his fingers like a hurricane   Couldn't see nothing, never said a word   But he could sure imitate anything he heard      He could rock, he could roll   (Rock, rock, rock, rock-a-billy)   Cry blues with soul   (Rock, rock, rock, rock-a-billy)      Never went to school one single day   But oh that boy could play   He could rock, rock, rock, rock-a-billy      One day a man came to Billy's town   To hear that boy and his guitar sound   He said, "Son, you should be a star"      Now Billy's riding around in a big long car   Making more money than he'll ever spend   'Cause he still has what he had back then      He could rock, he could roll   (Rock, rock, rock, rock-a-billy)   Cry blues, with soul   (Rock, rock, rock, rock-a-billy)      Never went to school one single day   But, oh, that boy could play   He could rock, rock, rock, rock-a-billy   He could rock, rock, rock, rock-a-billy