BbEb7Bb
Come the dazzling sunlit rays
F7 Fo F7
Through the back alleys, through the blinds,
BbEbmBb
Another one of them endless days
[Verse 2]
F7 Fo F7
Honey bees are buzzing
BbEb7Bb
Leaves begin to stir
F7 Fo F7
I'm in love with my second cousin
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I tell myself I could be happy forever with her.
[Bridge 1]
DmA7
I keep listening for footsteps,
DmBbA7
But I ain't ever hearing any
DmA7
From the boat, I fish for bullheads
Dm C/E F Fo
I catch a lot, sometimes too many
[Verse 3]
F7 Fo F7
A summer breeze is blowin',
BbEb7Bb
A squall is setting in.
F7 Fo F7
Sometimes it's just plain stupid
BbEbmBb
To get into any kind of wind.
[Interlude 1]
F7 F#o F#7 F7
[Verse 4]
F7 Fo F7
Well, the old men 'round here sometimes they get on
BbEb7Bb
bad terms with the younger men,
F7 Fo F7
Old, young - age don't carry weight
BbEbmBb
It doesn't matter in the end
[Verse 5]
F7 Fo F7
One of the bosses' hangers-on sometimes comes to call
BbEb7Bb
At times you least expect,
F7 Fo F7
Tryin' to bully you, strong-arm you, inspire you with fear.
BbEbmBbA7
It has the opposite effect
[Bridge 2]
DmA7
There's a new grove of trees on the outskirts of town
DmBbA7
The old one - long gone.
DmA7
Timber, two foot six across,
Dm C/E F Fo
Burns with the bark still on.
[Verse 6]
F7 Fo F7
They say times are hard,
BbEb7Bb
If you don't believe it you can follow your nose.
F7 Fo F7
It don't bother me, times are hard everywhere,
BbEbmBb
We will just have to see how it goes.
[Interlude 2]
F7 F#o F#7 F7
[Verse 7]
F7 Fo F7
My old man he's like some feudal lord,
BbEb7Bb
Got more lives than a cat.
F7 Fo F7
I've never seen him quarrel with my mother even once.
BbEbmBb
Things come alive or they fall flat.
[Verse 8]
F7 Fo F7
You can smell the pine wood burnin'
BbEb7Bb
You can hear the school-bell ring.
F7 Fo F7
Got to get up near the teacher, if you can
BbEbmBbA7
If you wanna learn anything.
[Bridge 3]
DmA7
Romeo, he said to Juliet, "You got a poor complexion
DmBbA7
It don't give you an appearance of a youthful touch."
DmA7
Juliet said back to Romeo, "Why don't you just shove off
Dm C/E F Fo
If it bothers you so much."
[Verse 9]
F7 Fo F7
They all got out of here any way they could -
BbEb7Bb
Cold rain can give you the shivers.
F7 Fo F7
They went down the Ohio, the Cumberland, the Tennessee,
BbEbmBb
All the rest of them rebel rivers.
[Interlude 3]
F7 F#o F#7 F7
[[Verse 10]
F7 Fo F7
If you ever try to interfere with me, or cross my path again,
BbEb7Bb
You do so at the peril of your own life.
F7 Fo F7
I'm not quite as cool or forgiving as I sound,
BbEbmBb
I've seen enough heartache and strife.
[Verse 11]
F7 Fo F7
My grandfather was a duck trapper
BbEb7Bb
He could do it with just dragnets and ropes
F7 Fo F7
My grandmother could sew new dresses out of old cloth,
BbEbmBbA7
I don't know if they had any dreams or hopes.
[Bridge 4]
DmA7
I had 'em once though I suppose
Dm
To go along with all the ring dancing,
BbA7
Christmas Carols on all the Christmas Eves
DmA7
I left all my dreams and hopes
Dm C/E F Fo
Buried under tobacco leaves
[Verse 12]
F7 Fo F7
Not always easy kicking someone out,
BbEb7Bb
Got to wait awhile, it can be an unpleasant task.
F7 Fo F7
Sometimes somebody wants you to give something up
BbEbmBb
And, tears or not, it's too much to ask.