C                       F                        C
Look out, Ma, there's a white boat coming up the river
       F                                          C
With a big red beacon and a flag and a man on the rail
              F
I think you'd better call John
                                            Em        F
'Cause it don't look like they're here to deliver the mail
         Em                F
And it's less than a mile away
      Em                       F
And I hope they didn't come to stay
         Em                        F
It's got numbers on the side and a gun
                    G    C   F  C
And it's making big waves___

[Verse]
                    F                            C
Daddy's gone and my brother's out hunting in the mountains
    F                                              C
Big John's been drinking since the river took Emmy Lou
       F                                     Em         F
So the powers that be left me here to do the thinking
      Em                 F
And I just turned twenty-two
      Em                F
I was wondering what to do
        Em
And the closer they got
    F                    G   C    F  C
The more those feeling's grew___

[Verse]
                 F              C
Daddy's rifle in my hand felt reassuring
          F                                         C
He said, "Red means run, son, and numbers add up to nothing"
         F                                Em      F
When the first shot hit the dock I saw it coming
          Em          F
Raised my rifle to my eye
      Em                F
Never stopped to wonder why
     Em                 F                    G  C    F  C
Then I saw black and my face splashed in the sky___

[Verse]
                    F              C
Shelter me from the powder and the finger
F                                         C
Cover me with the thought that pulled the trigger
     F                            Em       F
Just think of me as one you never figured
   Em           F
We fade away so young
Em             F
So much left undone
  Em              F                 G          C   F   C
Remember me to my love, I know I'll miss her___