Around midnight A shadow appears on center stage And sings a haunting melody While a distant fiddle plays Look closer And you can almost see a rhinestone Shinning in the dark He's still a living legend Living right here in my heart He's the phantom of the Opry A grand old spirit from the Ryman days He just feels at home here He don't really mean to haunt this place Every time it rains in Nashville They say the angels cry Cause the phantom of the Opry Never got to say goodbye Some say it's Hanker or Lefty Or that Kentucky Bluebird flying back again
No one knows for certain We all know it's more than just the wind There's a ghostly sound of steel guitar Cryin' in the night Doesn't come from center stage Often somewhere on the other side He's the phantom of the Opry A grand old spirit from the Ryman days He just feels at home here He don't really mean to haunt this place Every time it rains in Nashville They say the angels cry Cause the phantom of the Opry Never got to say goodbye Around midnight A shadow appears on center stage Sings a haunting melody While a distant fiddle plays