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