Written By: Stephen Bruton & John "00" Fleming
Performed By: The Highwaymen (Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings, Johnny Cash & Kris Kristofferson)
Appears On: The Road Goes On Forever-1995 & The Road Goes On Forever (10th Anniversary Edition)-2005.



[Kristofferson:]
I Been Obnoxious.
[Jennings:]
I Been Unconscious.
[Kristofferson:]
I Been All Kinds Of Things That Are Hard To Spell.
[Nelson:]
I've Been Unruly.
[Cash:]
Speakin' Truly.
[Nelson:]
I've Been So Cool, I Couldn't Hardly Even Stand Myself.

[Jennings:]
I've Been A Monster.
[Cash:]
Without A Sponsor.
[Jennings:]
I've Been Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde.
[Cash:]
I've Been A Gonner.
[Nelson:]
I've Been A Loner.
[Cash:]
And When My Mixture Was Right,
[All 4:]
I'm A Nice Bunch Of Guys.

[All 4:]
I Am What I Am,
'Cause I Ain't What I Used To Be.
(No.)
'Cause It Is What It Is,
But It Ain't What It Used To Be.

[Jennings:]
I've Been A Mover.
[Nelson:]
I've Was A Shaker.
[Kristofferson:]
You Had A Girlfriend.
I Tried To Snake Her.
[Jennings:]
I Been Mysterious.
[Cash:]
I Been Delirious.
[Jennings:]
I Been So Weird It Woulda Killed A Normal Man.
[Nelson:]
I Wanted Money.
[Jennings:]
I Wanted Power.
[Nelson:]
I Want A Monument Kinda Like The Eifel Tower.
[Cash:]
I Been Lost At Sea.
[Kristofferson:]
I Been Lost In Space.
[Cash:]
And When I Fall In Love I Fall All Over The Place.

[All 4:]
I Am What I Am,
'Cause I Ain't What I Used To Be.
(Wo, No.)
'Cause It Is What It Is,
But It Ain't What It Used To Be.
(Well, Tell 'em About It.)

[Kristofferson:]
Oh, You Can Go On Forever And Make The Same Mistakes.
[Jennings:]
Or You Can Stand Up On Your Hind Legs And Change Your Fate.
[Nelson:]
Go On And Do, Until You Finally See,
[Jennings:]
What It Is That It Was That You Don't Wanna Be.
(Walk And Talk. Whew!)

[Instrumental Break:]

[Cash:]
I Was An Outlaw.
[Jennings:]
I Was An Inlaw.
[Kristofferson:]
I Was A Scapegoat, That Was The Last Straw.
[Jennings:]
I Hit The Highway,
[Nelson:]
Singin', "My Way."
[Kristofferson:]
But It Wound Up Soundin' Like, "You'll Never Walk Alone."
[Jennings:]
I Got A Story.
[Cash:]
Reflected Glory.
[Jennings:]
Is The Way That I Been Seein' For Most Of My Life.
[Nelson:]
I Heard The Laughter.
[Kristofferson:]
Up In The Rafter.
[Nelson:]
But I Never, Ever Thought That The Joke Was On Me.

[All 4:]
I Am What I Am,
'Cause I Ain't What I Used To Be.
(Well, Maybe Just A Little.)
'Cause It Is What It Is,
But It Ain't What It Used To Be.

(One More.)

Yeah, I Am What I Am,
'Cause I Ain't What I Used To Be.
'Cause It Is What It Is,
But It Ain't What It Used To Be.

(Ha, Ha. Yeah!)