I turned sixteen got a brand new six-string Haggard and Hank, Sting and Springsteen, Peelin' the paint every chance I got. Daddy said "You're pretty good, but it's tough out there, Now 'Stairway To Heaven' won't get ya anywhere, Otta cut your hair, and get a real job." Chorus 1: So I started a band, and we got out of dodge, In a Dodge van with no exhaust, Got high off the fumes, but we played our tunes, Ain't no one gonna say I can't, Yeah, I started a band, stared a band. Started a band and I met a girl, Sang my songs and rocked her world, Goin' strong but out of the blue one day, She said "I can't love a music man", So I dropped my dream and sold my amp, But I'll be damned if she didn't leave me anyway. Chorus 2: So I stared a band, with a couple new guys, We played those same ol' dives. Yeah, we never sold gold, okay, we never sold, Ain't no one gonna say I can't, Yeah, I started a band, started a band, But the lead picker always played too loud, And him and the drummer had a fallin' out, Bass man stayed out of it and just got drunk, I was Nashville bound, my dreams were bigger, I knocked 'em out they just couldn't pull the trigger, And that's Nashville speak for I stunk, as a solo man. Chorus 3: So I started a band, we play what we like, On a stage that's eight feet wide, But I got my pride, and I got my van, I kept who I am, I started a band, Started a band, can't get this guitar out my hand, Yeah I started a band.