Cole, Cooke & Redding Wilson Pickett

[Intro]
A wonderful lady whom I admire very much by the name of Moms Mabley
Sung a song about a lot of great men
But you know, somehow I still feel that there's a lot of great men to be sung about
I've got some friends, ladies and gentlemen
Who have gone home before me
And I hope you don't mind if I take a little time now to tell you about them

[Verse 1]
Anybody here seen my friend Nat King Cole?
Can you tell me where Nat has gone?
The last thing I heard him say
He was gonna look back over his life
And before he could do it, he was gone
Oh, before he could do it, he was gone

[Verse 2]
And has anybody here seen my friend Sam Cooke?
Can anybody tell me where Sam has gone?
The last thing he told me
That a change was gonna come
But before he could see it, he was gone
Oh, oh, before he could see it, he was gone, oh yeah

[Verse 3]
I've got another friend by the name of Otis Redding
Can anybody tell me where Otis has gone?
Last time I saw him
He was sittin' down by the dock of the bay
Oh, I looked around for Otis and he was gone
I looked around and my friend Otis Redding was gone