First time I’d ever seen a real Gibson Les Paul
Crushed blue velour covering every wall
Every soul in that room was a stranger to me
But you played your ass off, as cool as could be

We learned all the songs and we loaded the van
I tripped backwards into a rock and roll band
You took me under your cynical wing
And laid out the blueprint for everything

Like rings buried deep in the heart of the tree
Preserving each lesson you passed on to me
I still see your faces, no matter the light
Carved into the side of Mount Rushmore tonight

You sang like an angel with a beat up guitar
Shakespeare and Jesus at the Troubadour bar
Misplaced desperadoes all lined up outside
But you left a footprint a hundred miles wide

I memorized every song that I heard
Studied the liner notes - sang every word
Those Henry Diltz photographs burned in my mind
I walked away from my old dreams and left them behind

Like rings buried deep in the heart of the tree
Preserving each lesson you passed on to me
I still see your faces, no matter the light
Carved into the side of Mount Rushmore tonight

I can’t say I remember when I first heard that sound
Felt that wail and that rumble from deep in the ground
Behind a row of guitar necks at the edge of the band
That current that flowed from your heart to your hand

With the bar on the strings and your hair in your eyes
I’d watch you ricochet between bliss and surprise
Those crazy loud clothes and that devilish grin
Sometimes I can’t help believing that I’ll see you again

Like rings buried deep in the heart of the tree
Preserving each lesson you passed on to me
I still see your faces, no matter the light
Carved into the side of Mount Rushmore tonight
Carved into the side of Mount Rushmore…tonight