Author: Jim

Tiger By The Tail

Jim,

—Buck Owens

Chorus:
I've got a tiger by the tail, it's plain to see
I won't be much when you get through with me
Well, I'm losing weight and turnin' mighty pale
Looks like I've got a tiger by the tail

I thought the day I met you, you were meek as a lamb
Just the kind to fit my dreams and plans
Now, the pace we're livin' takes the wind from my sails
And it looks like I've got a tiger by the tail

Chorus

Well, every night you drag me where the bright lights are found
There ain't no way to slow you down
I'm about as helpless as a leaf in a gale
And it looks like I've got a tiger by the tail

Chorus

Verse:

I IV V I
I IV V I

This Land is Your Land

Jim,

—Woody Guthrie

This land is your land, and this land is my land
From California to the New York Island
From the Redwood Forest to the Gulf Stream waters
This land was made for you and me

As I went walking that ribbon of highway
And I saw above me that endless skyway
I saw below me that golden valley
This land was made for you and me

I roamed and rambled, and I've followed my footsteps
To the sparkling sands of her diamond deserts
All around me, a voice was sounding
This land was made for you and me

When the sun come shining, then I was strolling
And the wheat fields waving, and the dust clouds rolling
The voice was chanting as the fog was lifting
This land was made for you and me

As I went walking I saw a sign there
And on the sign it said "No Trespassing."
But on the other side it didn't say nothing,
That side was made for you and me.*

In the squares of the city, In the shadow of a steeple;
By the relief office, I'd seen my people.
As they stood there hungry, I stood there asking,
Is this land made for you and me?

Nobody living can ever stop me,
As I go walking that freedom highway;
Nobody living can make me turn back
This land was made for you and me.

*(alternate)
There was a big, high wall there that tried to stop me
A sign was painted said "Private Property"
But on the backside, it didn't say nothing
This land was made for you and me

Verse:

IV I V I
IV I V I

Take This Hammer

Jim,

Chorus:
Take this hammer, carry it to the captain ( x3 )
Tell him I'm a-gone, just tell him I'm a gone

If he asks you, was I running ( x3 )
Tell him I was flying, tell him I was flying

If he asks you, was I laughing ( x3 )
Tell him I was crying, tell him I was crying

I don't want these your cold iron shackles ( x3 )
It hurts my leg, well it hurts my leg

Captain, captain, this old hammer's too heavy ( x3 )
For the likes of man, for the likes of man

Must be the hammer that killed John Henry ( x3 )
But it won't kill me, no it won't kill me

Verse & Chorus:

I V V I
I IV I – V I
Extra verses:

I don't want your greenback dollars
It hurts my pride, lord, it hurts my pride

I don't want no cornbread and molasses
It hurts my pride, it hurts my pride

Tell the captain I was headed for the river
Tell him I swim, tell him I swim

This old hammer it shines like silver
But it rings like gold, it rings like gold

Dont' you make me wear these old cold shackles
'Cause they wound my soul, lord they wound my soul

I'm comin' to that Jordan water
Don't let me drown, don't let me drown




Shuckin' the Corn

Jim,

Some Old Day

Jim,

—Earl "Jack" Rouse, but copyrighted by Flatt & Scruggs

I've been workin' out in the rain
Tied to the dirty old ball and chain
Oh dear mother I'll come home some old day
Some sweet day the'll turn me loose
From this dirty old calaboose
Oh dear mother I'll come home some old day

Chorus:
Some old day
You'll wait for me and pray
Oh dear mother I'll come home some old day
Some sweet day they'll turn me loose
From this dirty old calaboose
Oh dear mother I'll come home some old day

Oh dear mother I've hurt you so
I've been cruel to you I know
Oh dear mother I'll come home some old day
Tell my brother My sister and dad
Tell the dear friends that I've had
Oh dear mother I'll come home some old day

Verse:

I I7 IV I
I II V V
I I7 IV I
I IV – V I I

Chorus:

IV IV IV – I I
I II V V
I I7 IV I
I IV – II I I

Short Life of Trouble

Jim,

—Traditional

Chorus:
Short life of trouble
A few more words to part
Short life of trouble dear girl
For a boy with a broken heart

Remember what you promised
Not more than a week ago
You promised that you'd marry me
Standing in your mama's door

Now you've gone and left me
I don't know what I'll do
I'd give this world and half of my life
Just to be married to you

Now you've broken your promise
Go marry whom you may
In this old world so big and so wide
I'll ramble back some day

My right foot's on the platform
My left foot's on the train
I'm leaving you and this lonesome old town
To never return again

3/4

Verse:

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


Rank Stranger

Jim,

—Albert E. Brumley

I wandered again to my home in the mountains
Where in youth's early dawn I was happy and free
I looked for my friends but I never could find them
I found they were all rank strangers to me

Chorus:
Everybody I met seemed to be a rank stranger
No mother or dad not a friend could I see
They knew not my name and I knew not their faces
I found they were all rank strangers to me.

Now they've all moved away said the voice of a stranger
To a beautiful home by a bright crystal sea
And some day I'll meet them all up in Heaven
Where no one will be a rank stranger to me.

Chorus

3/4

Verse:

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


My Better Years

Jim,

—Hazel Dickens

Chorus 1:
Well you're back on my doorstep a' crying
Like I cried for all those lonely years
But I can't dry your tears it's been too long since love was here
And I've already gave you my better years

Verse 1:
And so the pages of time kept right on turning
They never stopped for us to harvest the years
And old embers of love kept right on dying
For there was no one to drown my tears.

Chorus 1

Verse 2:
But I've tried not to blame you
I'll try not to shame you
All I can do now is wish you well
But if you should need a friend
I'll be there until the end
Just don't ask me to love you again.

Chorus 2:
Don't come back on my doorstep a' crying
Hoping for what's been dead so long
For the embers have all turned to ashes
There's nothing here but old memories and this song.

Tag:
No don't come back on my doorstep a' crying
My friend, there's nothing but old memories and this song.

3/4

Chorus:

I IV I V
I IV – I I V – I

Verse:

I IV I V
I IV I – V I

Mole in the Ground

Jim,

—Bascom Lamar Lunsford

I wish l was a mole in the ground.
Yes, I wish I was a mole in the ground.
If I'se a mole in the ground, l'd root that mountain down,
And I wish I was a mole in the ground.

Oh, Kimpy wants a nine-dollar shawl.
Yes, Kimpy wants a nine-dollar shawl.
When I come o'er the hill with a forty-dollar bill,
Baby, where you been so long?"

I been in the pen so long.
Yes, I been in the pen so long.
l been in the pen with the rough and rowdy men.
Baby, where you been so long?"

I don't like a railroad man.
No, l don't like a railroad man.
'Cause a railroad man they'll kill you when he can,
And drink up your blood like wine.

I wish I was a lizard in the spring.
Yes, l wish I was a lizard in the spring.
If I'se a lizard in the spring, I'd hear my darlin' sing,
An' I wish l was a lizard in the spring.

Come, Kimpy, let your hair roll down.
Kimpy let your hair roll down.
Let your hair roll down and your bangs curl around,
Oh, Kimpy, let your hair roll down.

l wish I was a mole in the ground.
Yes, I wish I was a mole in the ground.
If I'se a mole in the ground, I'd root that mountain down,
An' I wish I was a mole in the ground.

Verse:

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


Little Girl in Tennessee

Jim,

—Flatt & Scruggs

Oh, a long long time ago when I left my home to roam
Down in the hills of Tennessee
Was the sweetest little girl that was ever in this world
Down in the hills of Tennessee

Chorus:
Oh, little girl of mine in Tennessee
I know she's waiting there for me
Someday I'll settle down in that little country town
With that little girl of mine in Tennessee

Oh, she begged me not to go "You'll be sorry dear I know"
For the way that you've been treating me
So I rambled all around but nothing could be found
To take the place of her in Tennessee

Oh, someday I'll wander back to that little mountain shack
The little girl that's waiting there for me
I can see her smiling face waiting for me at the gate
The little girl of mine in Tennessee

Verse:

I IV – I I V
I IV – I I – V V

Chorus:

IV I I V
I IV – I I – V I