Kinky Friedman
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The Ballad of Charles Whitman

Read The Ballad of Charles Whitman lyrics by Kinky Friedman on LyroVerse, with linked artist context and related song paths.

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Page type: lyric reference Artist: Kinky Friedman Canonical path: /kinky-friedman/the-ballad-of-charles-whitman Related lyric paths: 6
Lyrics

The Ballad of Charles Whitman

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Kinky Friedman - The Ballad of Charles Whitman

He was sitting up there for more than an hour,

Way up there on the Texas Tower

Shooting from the twenty-seventh floor. Yahoo!

He didn't choke or slash or slit them,

Not our Charles Joseph Whitman,

He won't be an architect no more.

Got up that morning calm and cool,

He picked up his guns and walked to school.

All the while he smiled so sweetly

And it blew their minds completely,

They'd never seen an Eagle Scout so cruel.

Now won't you think for the shame and degradation

For the school's administration

He put on such a bold and brassy show.

The Chancellor cried, "It's adolescent

And of course it's most unpleasant

But I got to admit it was a lovely way to go."

There was a rumor about a tumor

Nestled at the base of his brain.

He was sitting up there with his .36 Magnum

Laughing wildly as he bagged 'em.

Who are we to say the boy's insane ?

Now Charlie was awful disappointed

Else he thought he was annointed

To do a deed so lowdown and so mean.

The students looked up from their classes

Had to stop and rub their glasses,

Who'd believe he'd once been a Marine.

Now Charlie made the honor roll with ease,

Most all of his grades was A's and B's.

A real rip snorting trigger squeezer

Charlie proved a big crowd pleaser

Though he had been known to make a couple C's.

Some were dying, some were weeping,

Some were studying, some were sleeping,

Some were shouting "Texas # 1!"

Some were running, some were falling,

Some were screaming, some were bawling,

Some thought the revolution had begun.

The doctors tore his poor brain down,

But not a snitch of illness could be found.

Most folks couldn't figure just-a why he did it

And them that could would not admit it,

There's still a lot of Eagle Scouts around.

There was a rumor about a tumor

Nestled at the base of his brain.

He was sitting up there with his .36 Magnum

Laughing wildly as he bagged 'em.

Who are we to say the boy's in

Who are we to say the boy's in

Who are we to say the boy's insane ?

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Who performs "The Ballad of Charles Whitman"?

Kinky Friedman performs "The Ballad of Charles Whitman", and this lyric page sits inside the Kinky Friedman catalog on LyroVerse.

Are there related songs to explore after "The Ballad of Charles Whitman"?

Yes. The related section below points to London Homesick Blues and Ramblin' Boy with a short reason for opening each page next.

Where can I find more songs by Kinky Friedman?

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