F# B
Russell Roman took his brand new bride
C#7 F#
Across the threshold to their brand new life
B
With very little money in his jeans
C#7 F#
And a hundred million dollars worth of dreams
F# B
He took a job a the Congress Union Bank
C#7 F#
Worked hard to get ahead but drew a blank
B
One day they paid him off and sent him home
C#7 F#
Then he swore he'd build an empire of his own
B C#7 F#
Through the years he worked and dreamed of a Roman empire
B C#7 F#
And he left his pretty young wife all alone
B C#7 F#
She didn't share his dreams of a Roman empire
B C#7 F#
All she dreamed of was a family and a home
F# B
Hard work and patience brought him wealth and fame
C#7 F#
And he thought he was a winner in life's game
B
Their empire stretched from Maine to Mexico
C#7 F#
She had everything but what she needed most
F# B
When at last her loneliness had run it's coarse
C#7 F#
The judge granted Mrs. Roman her divorce
B
Now Russell Roman's empire seemed so small
C#7 F#
And as lifeless as the Rembrandts on the wall
B C#7 F#
The rise and the fall of the Roman empire
B C#7 F#
Is a lesson for the likes of you and me
B C#7 F#
The rise and the fall of the Roman empire
B C#7 F#
Is just another page in history
F# B
Russell Roman took the same sweet bride
C#7 F#
Across the threshold for the second time
B
With very little money in his jeans
C#7 F#
And not one single dollar in his dreams
B C#7 F#
That's the fall and the rise of the Roman empire
B C#7 F#
He gave their fortune to an orphans home
B C#7 F#
The fall and the rise of the Roman empire
B C#7 F#
Now his empire is his family and his home