D#
My parents raised me tenderly
C# D#
I was their only son.
D#
My mind got mixed with ramblin'
C# D#
When I was all so young.
D#
An' I left my home the first time
C# D#
When I was twelve an' one.
D#
I'm a long time a-comin', Ma
C# D#
I'll be a long time gone.
D#
On the western side of Texas
C# D#
On the Texas plains
D#
I tried to find a job of work
C# D#
But they said I's young of age.
D#
My eyes they burned when I heard
C# D#
"Go home where you belong!"
D#
I'm a long time a-comin'
C# D#
I'll be a long time gone.
D#
I remember when I's ramblin'
C# D#
Around with the carnival trains.
D#
Different towns, different people
C# D#
Somehow they're all the same
D#
I remember children's faces best
C# D#
I remember travelin' on.
D#
I'm a long time a-comin'
C# D#
I'll be a long time gone.
D#
I once loved a fair young maid
C# D#
An' I ain't too big to tell
D#
If she broke my heart a single time
C# D#
She broke it ten or twelve.
D#
I walked an' talked all by myself
C# D#
I did not tell no one.
D#
I'm a long time a-comin', babe
C# D#
I'll be a long time gone.
D# . . ./c | D# . . . | G' . . . | D# . . . . .
D#
Many times by the highway side
C# D#
I tried to flag a ride
D#
With bloodshot eyes an' grittin' teeth
C# D#
I'd watch the cars roll by.
D#
The empty air hung in my head
C# D#
I's thinkin' all day long.
D#
I'm a long time a-comin'
C# D#
An' I'll be a long time gone.
D#
You might see me on your crossroads
C# D#
When I'm passin' thru
D#
Remember me how you wished to
C# D#
As I'm a-driftin' from your view.
D#
I ain't got the time to think about it
C# D#
I got too much to get done.
D#
Well, I'm a long time a-comin'
C# D#
An' I'll be a long time gone.
D#
If I can't help somebody
C# D#
With a word or song
D#
If I can't show somebody
C# D#
They are travelin' wrong.
D#
But I know I ain't no prophet
C# D#
An' I ain't no prophet's son.
D#
I'm just a long time a-comin'
C# D#
An' I'll be a long time gone.
D#
So you can have your beauty
C# D#
It's skin deep an' it only lies
D#
An' you can have your youth
C# D#
It'll rot before your eyes.
D#
Just give to me my gravestone
C# D#
With it clearly carved upon.
D#
"I's a long time a-comin'
C# D#
An' I'll be a long time gone."
D# /c D# /c G/b D/c G/b
: . . . : . . . : . . . : .
|-----2---2-2-0---|-2---2-----2-2---|-0---0---0---0---|-0---0---|
|-----3---3-3-3---|-3---3-----3-3---|-3---3---3---3---|-3---3---|
|-----2---2-2-0---|-2---2-----2-2---|-0---0---0---0---|-0---0---|
|-0-------0---0---|-0---0---0---0---|-0---0---0---0---|-0---0---|
|-0-------0---3---|-0---0---0---0---|-3---3---2---2---|-3---2---|
|-0-------0-------|-0---0---0---0---|-----------------|---------|
D# /c D#
: . . . : . . .
|-----2---2-2-0---|-2-------2-------||
|-----3---3-3-3---|-3-------3-------||
|-----2---2-2-0---|-2-------2-------||
|-0-------0---0---|-0-------0-------||
|-0-------0---3---|-0-------0-------||
|-0-------0-------|-0-------0-------||