They say that when it comes to choosing heroes
It's best to pick the ones who aren't around
If you choose among the living
You tend to have misgivings
When your hero lets you down
He might have a bad night in your town

And so I will not name my heroes
And I'll keep my distance when I can
But if time should bend or break them
I hope I won't forsake them
If by chance they need a friend
Or need to walk on ordinary ground

God knows it must be tough to be a hero
To wake up in a hero's state of mind
They say it's hard to be heroic
Much easier to blow it
When somebody's watching all the time
And you're dancing on the thin edge of a dime

They say it's hard, so hard
They say it's hard, ain't it hard

If someday I'm mistaken for a hero
I only hope it's after I am gone
Some of us are heroes
Some of us are zeros
Wannabes who never were the one
But who is who when all is said and done

They say that when it comes to choosing heroes
It's best to pick the ones who aren't around
If you choose among the living
You tend to have misgivings
When your hero lets you down
He might have a bad night in your town

Copyright: BMG RIGHTS MANAGEMENT US, LLC
Writer(s): JOHN J COINMAN, KEVIN MICHAEL COSTNER, TEDDY MORGAN