M. Lockwood Porter - Chris Bell Lyrics

I know that Paul Westerberg, he sang a song for you.
It occurred to me that someone should sing one for Chris Bell, too.
Kurt Cobain and Hendrix didn't make it to twenty-eight,
But they don't sell his t-shirts at the head shops in the Haight.
He said he was the cosmos and the wind,
But maybe all he needed was a friend to say:

Hold on a little longer, though your heart it breaks.
The beauty in your music shows that you've got what it takes.
Please don't take them Quaaludes. Please don't take that drive.
We're praying that you'll make it through the Seventies alive.

Growing up in Tennessee, he must have thought his heart was wrong.
He put his pain into his songs until it got too strong.
He gave his heart to Jesus, and gave his body to stronger stuff.
There's no drug that can ever drown your demons deep enough.
Driving around Memphis late one night,
His knuckles on the wheel were getting white.

Hold on a little longer, though your heart it breaks.
The beauty in your music shows that you've got what it takes.
Please don't take them Quaaludes. Please don't take that drive.
We're praying that you'll make it through the Seventies alive.

Rock-and-roll is here to stay.
It ain't better to burn out than fade away.

Hold on a little longer, though your heart it breaks.
There's beauty in your music and a lot you've left to make.
Please don't take them Quaaludes. Please don't take that drive.
We're praying that you'll make it through the Seventies alive.
We're praying that you'll make it through the Seventies alive.