(Verse 1)                                                             D (Riff) 
First you buy an ol�?? second�??hand amp with a knob that sticks? 
D 
You plug a cheap Fender in, 
D                                                     A 
then you crank it to ten and you learn a few Haggard licks 
A 
Then you play every day for oh, about nine or ten years? 
 A                                                         D (Riff) 
Writin�?? songs for your girl and blowin�?? all your money on gear 
 
D 
Then you talk to a drummer who�??s a friend of a friend at church? 
D                                                                        A 
He�??s got a buddy who�??s been learnin�?? the bass, so you get together after work 
A 
You play together six months �??til the band is tight? 
A 
Book your first big gig on a Friday night? 
 A                                            D 
Step up to the mic and pray you remember the words 
 
(Chorus 1) 
                              G 
Then you sing about love, or maybe love gone wrong? 
                         D 
And you do a little drinkin�?? to a drinkin�?? song? 
                               A 
You make everybody dance, everybody smile, everybody feel good for a while 
                D                    C        G      D (Riff) 
And when you�??re done...way to go, you finished step one 
 
(Verse 2) 
                                                         D 
Next you borrow ten grand from your uncle and you make a CD 
D 
Good luck payin�?? him back, �??cause it�??s a modern�??day fact, 
                       A 
anybody can get it for free 
A 
You spend your time online makin�?? virtual fans, 
A 
shoppin�?? for a band van while you work for the man 
 A                                                 D 
�??Til you book enough gigs you can turn in your two weeks 
 
(Chorus 2) 
                              G 
Then you sing about love, or maybe love gone wrong? 
                         D 
And you do a little drinkin�?? to a drinkin�?? song? 
                               A 
You make everybody dance, everybody smile, everybody feel good for a while 
               D                                          C      G    D (Riff) 
And when you�??re through....that�??s pretty good, but that�??s just step two?(Two step 
it now) 
 
(SOLO) 
 
(Bridge) 
    G 
Step three: glue your hands to a steerin�?? wheel? 
         D 
Step four: eat fast food every meal? 
          A                                             D7 
Step five and six: fire the original band, and buy a new van 
        G 
Step seven: burn out and give it up? 
         D 
Step eight: come back �??cause it�??s what you love 
      E                                  A     A7 
Step nine: you finally get a shot at the big time 
 
(Chorus 3) 
                              G 
So you sing about love, or maybe love gone wrong 
                         D 
And you put your whole heart and soul into every song 
                               A 
You make Letterman laugh and Leno smile, stack your awards up in a pile 
             D                                 C     G    D (Riff) 
And guess what�??s next... Everybody calls you an overnight success 
 
(Spoken) 
Yeah, you�??re an overnight success. 
?Hey, and all it really took was twenty 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