[Verse 1]
A                           G
I can recall the warm youth of a summer day, yeah
F                      G
The sweetest lemonade, the darkest game arcade
A                               G
And Billy had a yearning in the corner of his mind, yeah
F                      G
It moved him secretly, it moved him powerfully
F                  C               G           A
But prescience was lacking and the present was all
        F              C          G
And his aptitudes were carelessly wasted
    F           C             G            A
And challenging life with the abandon of a fool
   F              C            A
He squandered the hours of his day, yeah
 
 
[Verse 2]
A                                      G
Then darkness and disorder slapped him sharply in the face, yeah
F                         G
It hit him like a friend, struck something deep within
A                                   G
He couldn't break the chain of slow decay that seemed to drag him
F                      G
Just like a fatal tie, toward the other side
F               C            G              A
And Billy was a lunatic just barking at the moon
        F         C       G
And his brain was totally wasted
   F                  C             G            A
He then exchanged his friends for a needle and a spoon
       F         C      A
And he threw his future away, yeah
 
 
[Verse 3]
E        G        E              G         E G E G
Bolt the door and throw away the key, yeah
 
 
E          G           E                G  E G E G
Your dim reflection is all that you can see
   F            C            G            A
So where is the justice when no one is at fault
      F             C          G
And a human life is tragically wasted?
    F              C          G               A
How fragile is the flame that burns within us all
   F          G       A           G C B
To light each passing day, yeah