First you buy an ol' second-hand amp with a knob that sticks
You plug a cheap fender in,
then you crank it to ten and you learn a few Haggard licks
Then you play everyday for oh, about nine or ten years
Writin' songs for your girl and blowin' all your money on gear
Then you talk to a drummer who's a friend of a friend at church
He's got a buddy who's been learning the bass,
so you get together after work
You play together six months 'til the band is tight
Book your first big gig on a Friday night
Step up to the mic and pray you remember the words
Then you sing about love or maybe love gone wrong
And you do a little drinkin' to a drinkin' song
You make everybody dance, everybody smile, everybody feel good for a while
And when you're done, way to go, you finished step one
Next you borrow 10 grand from your uncle and you make a CD
Good luck paying him back cause it's a modern day fact,
anybody can get it for free
You spend your time online making virtual fans,
shopping for a band van while you work for the man
'Til you book enough gigs you can turn in your two weeks
Then you sing about love or maybe love gone wrong
And you do a little drinkin' to a drinkin' song
You make everybody dance, everybody smile, everybody feel good for a while
And when you're through, that's pretty good but that's just step two
(Two step it now)
Step three: glue your hands to a steering wheel
Step four: eat fast food every meal
step five and six: fire the original band, and buy a new van
Step seven: burn out and give it up
Step eight: come back cause it's what you love
Step nine: you finally get a shot at the big time
So you sing about love or maybe love gone wrong
And you put your whole heart and soul into every song
You make Letterman laugh and Leno smile, stack your awards up in a pile
And guess what's next, everybody calls you an overnight success
Yeah, you're an overnight success.
Hey, and all it really took was 20 years of blood, sweat and tears
You know what, on second thought, maybe you should just,
I don't know,
Try out for American Idol or something,
You plug a cheap fender in,
then you crank it to ten and you learn a few Haggard licks
Then you play everyday for oh, about nine or ten years
Writin' songs for your girl and blowin' all your money on gear
Then you talk to a drummer who's a friend of a friend at church
He's got a buddy who's been learning the bass,
so you get together after work
You play together six months 'til the band is tight
Book your first big gig on a Friday night
Step up to the mic and pray you remember the words
Then you sing about love or maybe love gone wrong
And you do a little drinkin' to a drinkin' song
You make everybody dance, everybody smile, everybody feel good for a while
And when you're done, way to go, you finished step one
Next you borrow 10 grand from your uncle and you make a CD
Good luck paying him back cause it's a modern day fact,
anybody can get it for free
You spend your time online making virtual fans,
shopping for a band van while you work for the man
'Til you book enough gigs you can turn in your two weeks
Then you sing about love or maybe love gone wrong
And you do a little drinkin' to a drinkin' song
You make everybody dance, everybody smile, everybody feel good for a while
And when you're through, that's pretty good but that's just step two
(Two step it now)
Step three: glue your hands to a steering wheel
Step four: eat fast food every meal
step five and six: fire the original band, and buy a new van
Step seven: burn out and give it up
Step eight: come back cause it's what you love
Step nine: you finally get a shot at the big time
So you sing about love or maybe love gone wrong
And you put your whole heart and soul into every song
You make Letterman laugh and Leno smile, stack your awards up in a pile
And guess what's next, everybody calls you an overnight success
Yeah, you're an overnight success.
Hey, and all it really took was 20 years of blood, sweat and tears
You know what, on second thought, maybe you should just,
I don't know,
Try out for American Idol or something,
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