F7F#oF#7F7 [Verse 1]
F7FoF7 Down over the window
BbEb7Bb Come the dazzling sunlit rays
F7FoF7 Through the back alleys, through the blinds,
BbEbmBb Another one of them endless days
F7FoF7 Honey bees are buzzing
BbEb7Bb Leaves begin to stir
F7FoF7 I'm in love with my second cousin
BbEbmBbA7 I tell myself I could be happy forever with her.
DmA7 I keep listening for footsteps,
DmBbA7 But I ain't ever hearing any
DmA7 From the boat, I fish for bullheads
DmC/EFFo I catch a lot, sometimes too many
F7FoF7 A summer breeze is blowin',
BbEb7Bb A squall is setting in.
F7FoF7 Sometimes it's just plain stupid
BbEbmBb To get into any kind of wind.
F7F#oF#7F7 [Verse 4]
F7FoF7 Well, the old men 'round here sometimes they get on
BbEb7Bb bad terms with the younger men,
F7FoF7 Old, young - age don't carry weight
BbEbmBb It doesn't matter in the end
 [Verse 5]
F7FoF7 One of the bosses' hangers-on sometimes comes to call
BbEb7Bb At times you least expect,
F7FoF7 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,
DmC/EFFo Burns with the bark still on.
 [Verse 6]
F7FoF7 They say times are hard,
BbEb7Bb If you don't believe it you can follow your nose.
F7FoF7 It don't bother me, times are hard everywhere,
BbEbmBb We will just have to see how it goes.
F7F#oF#7F7 [Verse 7]
F7FoF7 My old man he's like some feudal lord,
BbEb7Bb Got more lives than a cat.
F7FoF7 I've never seen him quarrel with my mother even once.
BbEbmBb Things come alive or they fall flat.
 [Verse 8]
F7FoF7 You can smell the pine wood burnin'
BbEb7Bb You can hear the school-bell ring.
F7FoF7 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
DmC/EFFo If it bothers you so much."
 [Verse 9]
F7FoF7 They all got out of here any way they could -
BbEb7Bb Cold rain can give you the shivers.
F7FoF7 They went down the Ohio, the Cumberland, the Tennessee,
BbEbmBb All the rest of them rebel rivers.
F7F#oF#7F7 [[Verse 10]
F7FoF7 If you ever try to interfere with me, or cross my path again,
BbEb7Bb You do so at the peril of your own life.
F7FoF7 I'm not quite as cool or forgiving as I sound,
BbEbmBb I've seen enough heartache and strife.
 [Verse 11]
F7FoF7 My grandfather was a duck trapper
BbEb7Bb He could do it with just dragnets and ropes
F7FoF7 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
DmC/EFFo Buried under tobacco leaves
 [Verse 12]
F7FoF7 Not always easy kicking someone out,
BbEb7Bb Got to wait awhile, it can be an unpleasant task.
F7FoF7 Sometimes somebody wants you to give something up
BbEbmBb And, tears or not, it's too much to ask.
F7F#oF#7F7 Bb6