Paul Overstreet - Billy Cant Read Chords

[Verse 1]
     A
His momma and daddy were very poor,
           D              A
 and they never went to school.
        D                 A
Billy followed in their footsteps,
                       E
like a lot of children do.
    A
He had to get a job to help pay the bills,
        D               A
so his younger brother Ben.
      D                          A
Might go to school and learn to read and write,
      E                          A
 and maybe he could teach all of them.
 
[Chorus]
                 D                    A
But Billy can't read, no Billy can't read.
         D           A
But he gives 200 percent
                                 E
for the minimum wage that he receives.
      D
Sometimes he pretends like he can as he looks.
        A                             D
And he laughs at the pictures in the funny books.
                               E
But it really ain't funny you see,
                  A
that Billy can't read.
 
[Verse 2]
          A
Then the boss man came around,
 D                   A
talked to Billy one day.
               D                        A
He said, "Now Billy you're the hardest worker I've got,
                           E
and you sure deserve more pay.
         A
But the boss at the top says I have to give,
      D                 A
each foreman a written test.
       D                      A
Billy hung his head cause he knew right then,
      E                        A
he'd always have to settle for less.
 
[Chorus]
                   D                    A
Cause Billy can't read, no Billy can't read.
         D           A
But he gives 200 percent,
                                 E
for the minimum wage that he receives.
      D
Sometimes he pretends like he can as he looks.
         A                            D
And he laughs at the pictures in the funny books.
                               E
But it really ain't funny you see,
                  A
that Billy can't read.
 
[Verse 3]
        A
Little Ben never took for granted,
         D                    A
all his brother Billy's sacrifice.
       D                       A
Every night while the family slept,
                                         E
they would sit up late by that old lamp light.
  A
Sounding out the "A's" and the "E's" and the "I's"
         D         A
and the "O's" and "U's".
            D                           A
Now he is reading everything from the cereal box,
         E
 to the Bible three times through.
 
[Chorus]
                 D                    A
Cause Billy can read, yeah Billy can read.
             D                         A
And now the rest of his life will be different,
                                    E
 because of the special gift he received.
        D
Now he don't have to act like he's laughing as he looks.
         A                      D
At the silly pictures in those funny books.
                             E
They're as funny as they can be,
                    A
now that Billy can read.
 
[Tag]
                                  E
Yeah his life is much better you see,
                    A
now that Billy can read.