Text: Nitty Gritty Dirt Band. Speed of Life. Jimmy Martin.

Well, they call me Jimmy Martin
And they say that I can sing
Of them lonesome broken-hearted
Boys of Bluegrass, I'm the king

I was born up in the mountains
I was raised in poverty
Made a guitar out of nothing
But a cigar box and strings

Took a bus across to Nashville
And that's where I was employed
Picking guitar and singing tenor
With Bill Monroe and his Bluegrass Boys

Yeah, they call me Jimmy Martin
And they say that I can sing
Of them lonesome broken-hearted
Boys of Bluegrass, I'm the king

Back in 1959
With the Sunny Mountain Boys
On that Louisiana Hayride
You never heard such a wondrous noise

We tore it up at the Grand Ole Opry
Walkin' Shoes and Free Born Man
But the circle is still broken
My greatest dream slipped through my hands

Well, they call me Jimmy Martin
And they say that I can sing
Of them lonesome broken-hearted
Boys of Bluegrass, I'm the king

Of them lonesome broken-hearted
Boys of Bluegrass, I'm the king