First You Lose the Rhyming

[Chorus]
First you lose the rhyming
Then you lose the timing
Then you lose the money
Then you lose the friends
And you try for one more song
But the words don't come and the chords are wrong
Whiskey bottle won't last long before it ends

[Verse 1]
I met him in a barroom in Chicago
I was writing what became of those we knew
About the ones who'd let their shooting star go out of sight
The one-hit wonder boys who never grew
And I asked him “Sir, what happened then to you”?
And he said

[Chorus]
"First you lose the rhyming
Then you lose the timing
Then you lose the money
Then you lose the friends
And you try for one more song
But the words don't come and the chords are wrong
Whiskey bottle won't last long before it ends"

[Verse 2]
He told me, "It's an old and tired story
You'll need a way to make it sound brand new
So tell 'em that I had my share of glory once alright
But I had somebody strong to see me through
And she told me all the things I shouldn't do
She said"

[Chorus]
"First you lose the rhyming
Then you lose the timing
Then you lose the money
Then you lose the friends
And you try for one more song
But the words don't come and the chords are wrong
Whiskey bottle won't last long before it ends"

[Verse 3]
But I did all a young man does with money
With all those young girls coming on so strong
And that's how come I lost my little honey to the road
'Cause she went off and wrote it in a song
And now you see her up there on the TV
She's a superstar and everybody knows
She sings a broken heart just like it should be sung each night
And I never miss a second of her shows
And I know the way the chorus always goes

[Chorus]
First you lose the rhyming
Then you lose the timing
Then you lose the money
Then you lose the friends
And you try for one more song
But the words don't come and the chords are wrong
Whiskey bottle won't last long before it ends

[Outro]
Yes, you try for one more song
Words don't come, chords are wrong
Whiskey bottle won't last long before it ends