Author: Jim

Weary Blues From Waitin'

Jim,

—Hank Williams

Chorus:
Weary blues from waitin'
Lord, I've been waitin' too long
These blues have got me cryin'
Oh, sweet mama, please come home.

The snow falls 'round my window
But it can't chill my heart
God knows it died the day you left
My dream world fell a—part.

Thru tears I watch young lovers
As they go strollin' by
Oh, all the things that might have been
God forgive me if I cry.

Chorus:

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

Verse:

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

 


Wayfaring Stranger

Jim,

I am a poor wayfaring stranger
While traveling through this world of woe
Yet there's no sickness, toil or danger
In that bright world to which I go

Chorus:
I'm going there to see my father
I'm going there no more to roam
I'm only going over Jordan
I'm only going over home

I know dark clouds will gather 'round me
I know my way is rough and steep
Yet beauteous fields lie just before me
Where God's redeemed their vigils keep

Chorus:
I'm going there to see my mother
She said she'd meet me when I come
I'm only going over Jordan
I'm only going over home

Verse:

Dm Gm Dm Dm
Gm Gm Em7 A7
Dm Gm Dm Dm
Gm A7 Dm Dm

Verse:

Bb Bb F F
Bb Bb Em7 A7
Dm Gm Dm Dm
Gm A7 Dm Dm

 

Instrumental Versions





Way Downtown

Jim,

—Traditional

It was late last night when Willie got home
He knocked and he knocked on the door
Slipping and a—sliding with his new shoes on
Willie don't you slip no more

Chorus:
Way downtown just foolin' around
Took me to the jail
It's oh me and it's oh my
No one to go my bail

I wish I was down in sweet Sally's house
Sittin' in my old arm chair
One arm around my old guitar
One arm around my dear

I like the hills of old West Virginia
Be right at home in Tennessee
North or south, east or west
It's home sweet home to me.

Where did you get your shoes pretty girl
And the clothes you wear so fine
Got my shoes from a railroading man
My clothes from a driver in the mine.

One old shirt is all that I got
And a dollar is all that I crave
Brought nothing with me into this old world
Ain't gonna take nothing to my grave

Verse:

|: IV I V I :|

 


Wandering Boy

Jim,

—The Carter Family, same as Bill Monroe's "Out in the Cold World," hmm…

Out in the cold world and far away from home
Some mother's boy is wanderin' all alone.
No one to guide him or keep his footsteps right
Some mother's boy is homeless tonight.

Chorus:
Bring back to me my wandering boy
For there is no other who's left to give me joy
Tell him that his mother with faded cheeks and hair
Is at the old home place awaiting him there

Out in the hallway then stands a vacant chair
And an old pair of shoes he used to wear
Empty is the cradle he used to love so well
Oh how I miss him no tongue can tell.

Well I remember those parting words he said
Well meet up yonder where tears are never shed
In that land of sunshine, away from toil and care
When life is over, I'll meet you up there

Verse:

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

 

Walls of Time

Jim,

—Peter Rowan

The wind is blowing 'cross the mountain
And down on the valley way below
It sweeps the grave of my darling
When I die that's where I want to go

Chorus:
Lord, send the angels for my darling
And take her to that home on high
I'll wait my time out here on earth love
And come to you when I die

Our names are carved upon a tombstone
I promised you before you died
Our love would bloom forever darling
When we rest side by side

I hear a voice out in the darkness
It moans and whispers through the pines
I know it's my sweetheart a calling
I hear her through the walls of time

Verse and Chorus:

I I I I
I I IV IV
I I I I
IV IV I I

 

Walkin' in My Sleep

Jim,

—Arthur Smith

Now, if you see that girl of mine, tell her if you please
When she bakes those biscuits, to roll up her sleeves

Chorus:
Walkin' in my sleep, baby, walkin' in my sleep
Up and down that Dixie line, walkin' in my sleep

Yonder comes my baby, how do you think I know
I know her by her pretty little curls, hanging down so low

Bake them biscuits baby, bake them good and brown
When I get my breakfast, I'm Alabama bound

Pain in my finger, pain in my toe
Pain in my ankle bone, I ain't a-gonna work no more

Verse and Chorus:

I I I V
V V V I

 



Kenny Baker's Break:


Wabash Cannonball

Jim,

—Williams Kindt, adapted by A.P. Carter

From the great Atlantic Ocean to the wide Pacific shore
From the green ol' Smoky Mountains to the south lands by the shore
She's mighty tall and handsome and she's known quite well by all
She's the regular combination of the Wabash Cannonball

Listen to the jingle, the rumble and the roar
As she glides along the woodland through the hills and by the shore
Hear the mighty rush of the engine, hear the lonesome hobos call
You're traveling through the jungles on the Wabash Cannonball

Our eastern states are dandy, so the people always say
From New York to St Louis with Chicago by the way
From the hills of Minnesota where the rippling waters fall
No changes can be taken on the Wabash Cannonball

Now here's to Daddy Claxton, may his name forever stand
And always be remembered through the courts throughout the land
His earthly race is over, now the curtains round him fall
We'll carry him home to victory on the Wabash Cannonball

Verse:

|: I I IV IV
V V V I :|

 

Used to Be

Jim,

Well you don't love me anymore my darling
I'm just a used to be to you
Those cold cold kisses that you gave me little darling
Proved to me you found somebody new

Chorus:
Tomorrow's just another lonesome day
And I know you'll want me far away
Well you don't love me anymore my darling
I'm just a used to be to you

Gone are the good old days that we spent together
And I don't know if I can stand the pain
Of knowing that you'll soon be gone forever
And I'll never know your love again

Verse:

|: I I I I
IV V I I :|

Chorus:

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

 

Uncloudy Day

Jim,

—J.K. Atwood, 1885

Oh they tell me of a home far beyond the sky
Oh they tell me of a home far away
Oh they tell me of a home where no storm clouds rise
Oh they tell me of an uncloudy day

Chorus:
Oh the land of cloudless days
Oh the land of an uncloudy sky
Oh they tell me of a home where no storm clouds rise
Oh they tell me of an uncloudy day

Oh, they tell me of a home where my friends have gone,
Oh they tell me of that land far away,
Where the tree of life in eternal bloom
Sheds its fragrance through the unclouded day.

Oh, they tell me of a King in His beauty there,
And they tell me that mine eyes shall behold
Where He sits on the throne that is whiter than snow
In the city that is made of gold.

Oh they tell me that He smiles on His children there
And His smile drives their sorrows all away
Oh they tell me that no tears ever come again
In that lovely land of uncloudy days

Verse:

I IV – I I V
I IV – I I V – I

Chorus:

I I I II – V
I IV – I I V – I

 


Uncle Pen

Jim,

—Bill Monroe

Oh the people would come from far away
They'd dance all night till the break of day
When the caller hollered "do-se-do"
You knew Uncle Pen was ready to go

Chorus:
Late in the evening about sundown
High on the hill and above the town
Uncle Pen played the fiddle lord how it would ring
You could hear it talk, you could hear it sing

He played an old piece he called "Soldier's Joy"
And the one called "The Boston Boy"
The greatest of all was "Jenny Lynn"
To me that's where the fiddle begins

I'll never forget that mournful day
When Uncle Pen was called away
They hung up his fiddle, they hung up his bow
They knew it was time for him to go

Verse:

I I I I
I I I I
I I I I
I I V I

Chorus:

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