[Verse 1]
Wild young cowboy out on the highway
A Telecaster kid of the rocking trade
Lost unto the straight and narrow
To honkytonks and masquerade
Tempted by a thousand pleasures
It's foolish comfort for the soul
A deadly shot in [the misty shadows?]
There ain't no sign posts along this road

[Chorus]
It is such a sweet temptation
It gives such grief relief
It is such a false sensation
How come that's so hard to believe?

[Verse 2]
Hiram Williams was in the back seat
Of a Cadillac on New Year's Day
He closed his eyes and sang his last song
Mister Leon Payne's "The Lost Highway"
That same old song with a sad sweet ending
Is playing somewhere south of town
By a band of hard young rockers
Who never think they'll see the sun go down
[Chorus]
And it is such a sweet temptation
It gives such grief relief
It is such a false sensation
How come that's so hard to believe?

[Verse 3]
A young angel sings in sorrow
For the broken-hearted and betrayed
A last waltz for the wild young cowboy
Who never came back from the lost highway
An old Diablo waits in silence
For the loco gringo young in years
He waits alone in heaven's shadow
With a stolen horse and tequila tears

[Chorus]
And it is such a sweet temptation
It gives such grief relief
It is such a false sensation
How come that's so hard to believe?

[Outro]
It is such a sweet temptation
It gives such a brief relief
It is such a false sensation
How come that's so hard to believe?
It is such a false sensation
How come that's so hard to believe?