(Curtis Leach - Betty Gary)      I happened to walk into a honky tonk   One night down in New Orleans   Up above the bar hung a big guitar   Like none I'd ever seen.      The neck was set with diamonds   And though the strings were old   Like Kings of sound they wound around   Six keys of solid gold.      A man stepped up beside me   His breath was strong with wine   He said you know that guitar once belonged   To a mighty close pal of mine.      He used to play it right here   I forget the year around '45, I think   Ha, I could tell you quite a story friend   If you'd care to buy me a drink.      --- Instrumental ---      Well, I possessed by every weakness   That takes a man a fool   I bought a round, he drank it down   And then he rocked back on his stool.      He said, ''Yeah, I remember now   It was '45 alright.   He just returned from the Great War   That's where he lost his sight.''      His buddies gave him that guitar   At the time it was simple and plain    He added the gold and the diamonds   as he played his way to fame.      He was doing a show in Shreveport   The night he received a call   To come appear on the Grand Ole Opry   The greatest show at all.      --- Instrumental ---      I was driving him to Nashville   It was cold and misting rain   The signals flashed and the whistle screamed   I swear Mister I never saw that train.      I heard the doctor tell him   Just after he used his knife   You're lucky son it was just your arm   It could have been your life.      But he died that night, life just demanded   More than he could give   I think he couldn've made it   He just lost his will to live.      But this world's loss is heaven's gain   And tonight he's still a star   He plays with a band of angels   That's my son's golden guitar...