Intro
A#
[Verse]
A# D# A#
My name is Joe Roberts I work for the state
F
I'm a sergeant out of Perrineville barracks number 8
A# D# A#
I always done an honest job as honest as I could
F A#
I got a brother named Franky and Frank he ain't no good
D# A#
Now ever since we was young kids it's been the same come down
F
I get a call on the shortwave Franky's in trouble downtown
A# D# A#
Well if it was any other man, I'd put him straight away
F A#
But when it's your brother sometimes you look the other way
[Chorus 1]
D# A# F D# A#
Yeah, me and Franky laughing and drinking nothing feels better than blood on blood
F D# A# F
Takin' turns dancin' with Marie as the band played Night of the Johnstown Flood
A# D# A#
I catch him when he's straying like any brother would
F A#
Man turns his back on his family well he just ain't no good
[Verse]
D# A#
Well Franky went in the army back in 1965
F
I got a farm deferment, settled down, took Maria for my wife
A# D# A#
But them wheat prices kept on dropping 'till it was like we were getting robbed
F A#
Franky came home in `68, and me, I took this job
[Chorus 2]
D# A# F D# A#
Yea we're laughing and drinking nothing feels better than blood on blood
F D# A# F
Takin' turns dancin' with Marie as the band played Night of the Johnstown Flood
A# D# A#
I catch him when he's straying, teach him how to walk that line
F A# D# F A#
Man turns his back on his family he ain't no friend of mine
[Verse]
D# A#
Well the night was like any other, I got a call `bout quarter to nine
F
There was trouble in a roadhouse out on the Michigan line
A# D# A#
There was a kid lying on the floor lookin' bad bleedin' hard from his head
F A#
There was a girl crying at a table and it was Frank, they said
D# A#
Well I went out and I jumped in my car and I hit the lights
F
But I must of done a hundred and ten through Michigan county that night
A# D# A#
It was out at the crossroads, down round Willow bank
F A#
Seen a Buick with Ohio plates behind the wheel was Frank
Well I chased him through them county roads
D# A#
'till a sign said Canadian border five miles from here
F A#
I pulled over to the side of the highway and watched his taillights disappear
[Chorus 3]
D# A# F D# A#
Me and Franky laughing and drinking nothing feels better than blood on blood
F D# A# F
Taking turns dancing with Marie as the band played Night of the Johnstown Flood
A# D# A#
I catch him when he's straying like any brother would
F A# D# A#
Man turns his back on his family well he just ain’t no good