The willows are weepin
The grass is bowed down
Coming down from the mountain
Drifts a high lonesome sound
Down in the valley sorrow runs deep
The river stands still as they lay him to sleep

And the twin fiddles play and the whippoorwill sings
All the angels in heaven whisper his name
As tears fall on the meadow like morning dew
The bluegrass has never been so blue

For that boy from kentucky
The whole world will mourn
As that wayfaring stranger
Reaches that distant shore
All his disciples pay their respects
To the music he made and the legacy left