Author: Jim

Little Maggie

Jim,

Oh yonder stands little Maggie
With a dram glass in her hands
She's drinking away her troubles
She's a courting some other man

Oh how can I ever stand it
Just to see them two blue eyes
A shining in the moonlight
Like two diamonds in the sky

Last time a saw little Maggie
She was sitting on the banks of the sea
With a forty—four around her
And a banjo on her knee

Lay down your last gold dollar
Lay down your gold watch and chain
Little Maggie's gonna dance for daddy
Listen to that old banjo ring

Pretty flowers were made for blooming
Pretty stars were made to shine
Pretty women were made for loving
Little Maggie was made for mine

Verse:

|: I I VII VII
I V I I :|

 

Little Liza Jane

Jim,

I got a gal and you got none, Little Liza Jane.
I got a gal an' you got none, Little Liza Jane.

Chorus:
Oh Little Liza, Little Liza Jane.
Oh Little Liza, Little Liza Jane.

Come my love and live with me, Little Liza Jane.
I will take good care of thee, Little Liza Jane.

Goin' to throw the dice away, Little Liza Jane.
When you name the happy day, Little Liza Jane.

Every mornin' when I wake, Little Liza Jane.
Smell the ham an buckwheat cakes, Little Liza Jane.

House and lot in Baltimore, Little Liza Jane.
Lots of children round the door, Little Liza Jane.

Nevermore from you I'll roam, Little Liza Jane.
Bestest place is home sweet home, Little Liza Jane.

Liza Jane done come to me, Little Liza Jane.
Both as happy as can be, Little Liza Jane.

Little Liza Jane II:

When I go a courtin' I'll go on the train.
When I go to marry, I'll marry Liza Jane.

The hardest work I ever did was brakin' on a train;
The easiest work I ever did was huggin' Liza Jane.

When I went to see her she met me at the door;
Her shoes and stockings in her hand, and her bare feet on the floor.

When I went to see her she wrung her hands and cried;
She swore I was the ugliest thing that ever lived or died.

I ask little Liza to marry me, what do you reckon she said?
Said she would not marry me if everybody else was dead.

Goin' up the mountain to raise a patch of cane,
To make a barrel of sorghum to sweeten up Liza Jane.

Whisky by the barrel sugar by the pound,
A great big bowl to put it in and a spoon to stir it round.

I wish I had a needle and a thread as fine as I could sew,
I would sew all the girls to my coat-tail and down the mountain I'd go.

Old corn likker's done made, still's tore out and gone.
What'll poor little Liza do when I'm took off and gone?

Don't you weep, my darling don't you weep nor cry;
I'll be back to see you in the long old by-and-by.

You can climb the cherry tree and I will climb the rose;
How I love that pretty little gal God almighty knows.

Verse:

I I I I
I I V I

Chorus:

I IV – I I I
I IV – I V I

 




Little Georgia Rose

Jim,

—Bill Monroe

Now come and listen to my story
A story that I know is true
A little rose that bloomed in Georgia
With hair of gold and a heart so true

Chorus:
Way down in the blue ridge mountains
Way down where the tall pines grow
Lives my sweetheart of the mountains
She's my little Georgia rose

Her mother left her with another
A carefree life she had planned
The baby now she is a lady
The one her mother couldn't stand

We often sing those songs together
I watched her do her little part
She smiled at me when I would tell her
That she was my sweetheart

Verse:

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

Chorus:

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

 

Little Cabin Home on the Hill

Jim,

Tonight I'm alone without you my dear
It seems there's a longing for you still
All I have to do now is sit alone and cry
In our little cabin home on the hill

Chorus:
Oh, someone has taken you from me
And left me here all alone
Just to listen to the rain beat on my window pane
In our little cabin home on the hill

I hope you are happy tonight as you are
But in my heart there's a longing for you still
I just keep it there so I won't be alone
In our little cabin home on the hill

Now when you have come to the end of the way
And find there's no more happiness for you
Just let you thoughts turn back once more if you will
To our little cabin home on the hill

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

Chorus:

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

 

Little Birdie

Jim,

Chorus:
Little birdie, little birdie
Come and sing me you song
Got a short time to stay here
And a long time to be gone

I'm a long way from old Dixie
And my old Kentucky home
Now my parents are both dead and gone
Have no place to call my home

Now I'd rather be a sailor
Way out upon the sea
Then to be at home a marred man
With a baby on my knee

For the married man he sees trouble
And the single boy sees none
I expect to live single
Til my days on earth are done

Now I'd rather be in some dark hollow
Where the sun don't ever shine
Then to see you love another
When you promised to be mine

Verse and Chorus:

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

 



Life's Too Short

Jim,

—The Delmore Brothers

Here today and gone tomorrow, life's too short to borrow sorrow
Life's too short for me to worry over you.
You are gone, you are missin', other lips you are kissin'
Life's too short for me to worry over you.

Chorus: (after each verse):
And I'm leavin' (and I'm leavin') and I'm grievin' (and I'm grievin')
And I'm grievin' (and I'm grievin') cause I'm blue.
Here today and gone tomorrow, life's too short to borrow sorrow
Life's too short for me to worry over you.

Sometimes I think I'm crazy with these blue days so hazy
Can't realize that you are so untrue.
Now I know that you don't love me and by all the powers above me
Life's too short for me to worry over you.

I'm through with you forever, for this time we must sever
I'm gonna have another heart so good and true,
That was made for usin' not for all this abusin'
Life's too short for me to worry over you.

Verse:

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

Chorus:

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

 

Life's Railway to Heaven

Jim,

—also called, Life is Like a Mountain Railroad, Eliza R. Snow & M.E Abbey, 1890

Life is like a mountain railroad
With an engineer that's brave
We must make the run successful
From the cradle to the grave

Watch the curves, the fills, and tunnels
Never falter, never fail
Keep your hand upon the throttle
And your eyes upon the rail

Chorus:
Blessed Savior, Thou will guide us
Till we reach that blissful shore
Where the angels wait to join us
In that great forevermore

As you roll across the trestle
Spanning Jordon's swelling tide
You'll behold the Union Depot
Into which your train will glide

There you'll meet the superintendent
God the Father, God the Son
With a hearty joyous greetings:
Weary Pilgrims Welcome Home

Verse:

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

Verse:

IV I I V
I IV I I

 



Let's Go to Huntin'

Jim,

—Traditional, Tim O'Brien Arrangement

Chorus:
Come on boys, let's go to huntin
Come on boys, let's go to huntin
Dog in the woods, he done treed something

Your dog barks, it don't mean nothin
Your dog barks, it don't mean nothin
My dog barks, he done treed somethin

Old Red howlin up at the moon
Old Red howlin up at the moon
Took off runnin, and he treed him a coon

Now he raised his tail and he took off runnin
He raised up his tail and he took off runnin
Come on boys let's go to huntin

The gun says boom and coon says zip
The gun says boom and the coon says zip
Old Red grabbed him with all his grip

Your dog bark, it don't mean nothin
Your dog bark, it don't mean nothin
My dog bark, he done treed somethin

Waterproof your boots and whistle up your dog
Waterproof your boots and whistle up your dog
Shoulder up your gun when you're wadin in the bog

You get the shot, I'll get the powder
You get the shot, I'll get the powder
Your dog bark, my dog louder

Verse:

I I I I
I I I I
I I I !

 

Leftover Biscuits

Jim,

—Harold D. Handy

Chorus:
Leftover biscuits, leftover ham
Leftover gravy in an old fryin' pan
Leftover coffee, leftover tea
Now I'm all alone 'cause she done left over me.

Well, I asked my wife if I could go out with the boys,
Just a little party over at Jimmy Roy's.
She said, "Yes, honey, you know that I don't care."
But what I didn't tell her it was a three—day affair.

Then we went to a party over at my neighbors' home,
Me and my neighbor's wife in the kitchen all alone.
She was makin' biscuits while I was makin' time.
Caught in the act by that little old wife of mine.

Now I'm all alone, 'cause she done left over me.

Chorus and Verse:

I II V I
I II V IV – I

 


Kentucky Waltz

Jim,

—Bill Monroe

We were waltzing that night in Kentucky
'Neath the beautiful harvest moon
And I was the boy who was lucky
But it all ended too soon

As I sit here alone in the moonlight
And I can see your smiling face
And I long once more for your embrace
In that beautiful Kentucky waltz

¾

Verse:

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