| Dm7/G      | Dm7/G      | G7         | C          | C          |

[Verse 1]
     C                                  F
If Loretta stayed in Butcher Holler and Conway still sang rock,
      G                                G*               C*
or if Chet had played the piccolo when Billboard had no charts.
   C                                   F
If Tanya stayed at school would Johnny barbecue that goat
       G                                G*              C*
and if Minnie didn't buy that hat would Archie tell his jokes.

[Verse 2]
   C                                F
If Ernest never waltzed across that Texas border line
        G                                  G*             C*
and the truckers never rolled again to the songs of Red Sovine.
        C                          F
What if Marty and that Devil Woman learned to love again
    G                              G*                C
and Melvin never stuttered, what a state we'd all be in?

[Chorus]
        F                       C
There'd be no country music, no homespun comedy,
D7                                 G
rock'n'roll would drive us mad and dominate the scene.
        C                           F
There'd be an Opry House but not in Nashville, Tennessee,
         G                            G*                   C
if there was no country music, what a sad world this would be.

[Interlude]
| Dm7/G      | Dm7/G      | G7         | C          | A7         |

[Verse 3] (Key Change to E)
   D                                G
If Hank had never known the torment of a cheatin' heart,
   A7                               A7*               D*
or Guy Drake never told about that "Welfare Cadillac" car.
   D                                   G
If Cash had never walked the line with June there by his side,
     A7                             A7*             D*
we'd never hear those country songs sung by Charley Pride.

[Verse 3]
       D                              G
But if Acuff kept it secret 'bout the Wabash Cannonball
    A7                          A7*             D*
and Eddy Arnold didn't sing his lonesome cattle call.
      D                             G
If we never heard the guitar or the fiddle start to play,
     A7                                A7*             D
we'd never know the pleasure that we'd missed along the way.

[End-Chorus]
        G                       D
There'd be no country music, no homespun comedy,
E7                                 A
rock'n'roll would drive us mad and dominate the scene.
        D                           G
There'd be an Opry House but not in Nashville, Tennessee,
         A7                           A7*                  D
if there was no country music, what a sad world this would be.
         A7                           A7*                  D
If there was no country music, what a sad world this would be.