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