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.