Author: Jim

Greensleeves

Jim,


I'm Gonna Hang My Britches Up

Jim,

—Onie Wheeler

Chorus:
Well I guess I might as well hang my britches up
I guess I might as well hang my britches up
Since she wears the britches I wash the dishes
She's a makin' my life mighty rough
I guess I might as well hang my britches up

Well my gal got a little job in town
She's a makin' more money'n anybody around
That's a-what's a-makin my poor heart sad
Cause she's a-been named the poor old dad(?)

Chorus (alt):
…Since she wears the britches I sew the stitches…

Well it didn't used to be this way
When I was the one that brought home the pay
She had to be good to poor old dad
Or I wouldn't give her none of what I had

Chorus

Well I've been thinkin' about goin to work
So I could wear the britches instead of a skirt
I really don't mind workin real hard
Cause I ain't lazy, just a little bit tired

Chorus

Chorus:

I V V I
I – I7 IV I V
V I

Verse:

I V V I
I IV V V – I

I Can't Pass an Orchard

Jim,

—Onie Wheeler

Pretty girls are like an orchard
Pretty fruit decorates the tree
Pretty girls decorate a city
For a country boy like me
I've picked them ripe, sometimes too green
But I just don't give a hoot
I just can't pass an orchard
without getting a little fruit

Chorus:
I can pick the apple of my eye
Even on a crowded street
Somehow I just can't pass them by
When they're prettier than a Georgia peach
I should go home left well-enough alone
And quit spendin' all of my loot
But I just can't pass an orchard
without getting a little fruit

An apple will spoil rotten
If you handle it too much
I've spoiled all the pretty girls
I can't love them enough
I need their love to survive
Like a fruit tree needs its roots
I just can't pass an orchard
without getting a little fruit

Chorus

Verse:

I I I V
V V V I
I I I7 IV
IV I V I

Chorus:

IV IV I I
IV IV I I
IV I V I

Verse:

I'm My Own Grandpa

Jim,

—Dwight Latham & Moe Jaffe, 1947

Many many years ago when I was twenty three,
I got married to a widow who was pretty as could be.

This widow had a grown-up daughter
Who had hair of red.
My father fell in love with her,
And soon the two were wed.

This made my dad my son-in-law
And changed my very life.
My daughter was my mother,
For she was my father's wife.

To complicate the matters worse,
Although it brought me joy,
I soon became the father
Of a bouncing baby boy.

My little baby then became
A brother-in-law to dad.
And so became my uncle,
Though it made me very sad.

For if he was my uncle,
Then that also made him brother
To the widow's grown-up daughter
Who, of course, was my step-mother.

Chorus:
I'm my own grandpa. I'm my own grandpa.
It sounds funny I know, but it really is so.
I'm my own grandpa.

Father's wife then had a son,
Who kept them on the run.
And he became my grandson,
For he was my daughter's son.

My wife is now my mother's mother
And it makes me blue.
Because, although she is my wife,
She's my grandmother too.

Chorus

If my wife is my grandmother,
Then I am her grandchild.
And every time I think of it,
It simply drives me wild.

For now I have become
The strangest case you ever saw.
As the husband of my grandmother,
I am my own grandpa

Chorus

Verse:

I V V I
I IV II V

Chorus:

I – V I IV V
I IV I – V I



In the Gravel Yard

Jim,

—Malcolm Pulley, Jr.

Chorus:
In the gravel yard with a number for my name
Making little rocks out of big rocks all day
Oh the work is mighty hard in the gravel yard
I'll never be a free man so they say

Warden hear my plea listen now to me
I killed a man that I caught with my wife
You'd probably done the same so I am not to blame
Sentenced to the rest of my life

In the drivin' rain with a ball and chain
My hammer rings a low mournful sound
It sings a little song for the ones who done me wrong
Who lie beneath the cold cold ground

Chorus & Verse:

I I IV I
I V I I   :|



Go Home

Jim,

—Curtis Wright/Jim Collins

In old Padres Nadres Old Mexico
Once in my travel I happened to go
I met Maria and we fell in love
It seemed like heaven came down from above

Dark skin and dark eyes and dark wavy hair
All kept me spellbound as love filled the air
I held her tightly then to my surpise
She whispered soft words with tears in her eyes

Chorus:
Go home, go home, your people would not understand
Go home, go home, go back to your own homeland

With gentle persuasion I changed her mind
I said they'd love her and treat her so kind
So we went together to my old hometown
I wanted to show my old friends what I'd found

But hate made my sweet dream a nightmare
One day I came home and she was not there
A note on the table tore my world apart
My old friends has been there and told my sweetheart

Chorus:
Go home, go home, your place is not with this man
Go home, go home, go back to your own homeland

3/4

Verse:

I V V V – I
I IV II V

Chorus:

I IV I V
I IV I – V I

High on a Hilltop

Jim,

—Tommy Collins

High on a hilltop overlooking a city
I can see the bright lights as they gleam
And somewhere you're dancing in some dingy bar room
And the lure of the gay life takes the place of our dream

Chorus:
High on a hilltop my heart cries, Oh Lord
Forgive her she knows not the way
And give me the power to believe and some day
High on a hilltop together we'll pray

I can vision a rounder with a line so smooth
And a promise of riches for you
But you see not the danger for you're silly with booze
And high on a hilltop I see a devil in you

3/4

Verse:

I IV – I I – V I
I IV – I I V – I

Chorus:

IV IV – I I V
I IV – I I V – I



Jealous

Jim,

—Doyle Lawson

Chorus:
Jealous, jealous
I think I'm losin' my mind
I think about you, I begin to doubt you
I'm jealous all of the time.

Jealousy go from my window
Stay out of my foolish heart
If this is love I don't need you
Tearin' my dream world apart.
For I'm…

Chorus

I see you talkin' with someone
Innocent though it may be
Inside my imagination
You're being untrue to me.
And I'm…

Chorus

Chorus:

I III7 IV I
IV I – VIm II – V I

Verse:

I – IV I I IV
V V V I


I'm Bound to Ride

Jim,

—Arthur Smith

Coming down from Tennessee riding on the line
Thinking about the girl of mine couldn't keep from crying
Refrain: Honey babe I'm bound to ride, don't you want to go

Riding on a streetcar looking o'er the town
Eatin' soda crackers ten cents a pound
Refrain

Working on a railroad saving all I can
Looking for that woman ain't got no man
Refrain

See that train a coming round the bend
Goodbye my little darling I'm on my way again
Refrain

If I die a railroad man bury me under the ties
So I can see old number four as she goes rolling by
Refrain

Another version:

Comin' thru old Asheville, comin' thru a flyin'
Studied about my little darlin,' couldn't keep from crying

Refrain:
Honey babe I'm bound to ride, don't you want to go

Goin to Atlanta, just to look around
If things don't soothe me, goin' to another town
Refrain

Workin' on the railroad, saving all I can
Lookin' for that woman, ain't got no man
Refrain

Standin on a corner ten thousand miles from home
Studied bout them good times, done past and gone
Refrain

If I die a railroad man, bury me under the ties
So I can hear ole number four as she goes rolling by
Refrain

Verse:

IV I V V – I
I I V – I I




Answer the Phone

Jim,

—Ernest Tubb

I've called and I've called you, but each time I phone
They always tell me that you're not at home
I've written you letters and knocked at your door
But don't worry, darling, I won't bother you anymore

Chorus:
So answer the phone when it rings, darling
And if somebody knocks, let them in
You don't have to be afraid that it's me
'Cause I'll never bother you again

I'm writing this letter to tell you goodbye
Somebody told me how you sit and cry
'Cause you found a new love since I have been gone
And wish I'd forget you and that I'd just leave you alone

Chorus

Verse:

I I IV I
I I II V
I I IV I
IV I V I

Chorus:

I I IV I
I I V V
I I IV I
IV I – V I I