Author: Jim

Folsom Prison Blues

Jim,

—Johnny Cash

I hear the train a comin'
It's rolling round the bend
And I ain't seen the sunshine since I don't know when,
I'm stuck in Folsom prison, and time keeps draggin' on
But that train keeps a rollin' on down to San Antone..

When I was just a baby my mama told me. Son,
Always be a good boy, don't ever play with guns.
But I shot a man in Reno just to watch him die
When I hear that whistle blowing, I hang my head and cry..

I bet there's rich folks eating in a fancy dining car
They're probably drinkin' coffee and smoking big cigars.
Well I know I had it coming, I know I can't be free
But those people keep a movin'
And that's what tortures me…

Well if they freed me from this prison,
If that railroad train was mine
I bet I'd move it on a little farther down the line
Far from Folsom prison, that's where I want to stay
And I'd let that lonesome whistle blow my blues away…..

Verse and Chorus:

I I I I-I7
IV IV I I

 

Foggy Mountain Top

Jim,

If I'd only listened to what my mama said
I would not be here today
A lying around this old jailhouse
Wasting my poor life away

Chorus:
If I was on some foggy mountain top
I'd sail away to the West
I'd sail all around this whole wide would
To the girl I love the best

Oh she caused me to weep and she caused me to mourn
She caused me to leave my home
Oh the lonesome pines and the good old times
I'm on my way back home

Now if you see that girl of mine
There's something you can tell her
She need not fool her time away
To court some other feller

Verse and Chorus:

I IV I V
I IV I-V I

 

Fishin' Blues

Jim,

—Chris Smith 1911, first recorded 1928 by "Ragtime Texas" Henry Thomas. This is Taj Mahal's version

Betcha goin' fishin' all of the time,
Baby's goin' fishing too
Bet your life, your sweet wife's
Gonna catch more fish than you

Chorus:
Many fish bites if ya got good bait
Here's a little tip I would like to relate
Many fish bites if ya got a good bait
With my pole, and my line…
I'm a goin' fishin' mama's goin' fishin'
And my baby's goin' fishin' too

I went down to my favorite fishin' hole
And I got myself a pole and line
Caught a nine pound catfish on the bottom yes I got him
Took him home to mama 'bout supper time, singin'…

Chorus

Baby brother 'bout to run me outta my mind
Sayin' can I go fishin' with you?
I took him on down to my fishin' hole
Now whatcha think that brother mine did do?
Pulled a great big fish out the bottom of the pond
And he laughed and jumped 'cause he was real gone, provin'

Chorus

Put him in the pot baby, put him in the pan mama
Cook him til he's nice and brown
Make a batch of buttermilk hoe-cakes mama
And you chew them things
And you chomp 'em on down, singin'

Chorus

Verse:

I I I-V I
I I II V

Chorus:

I I IV IV – I
I I I I
I-V I

 


Fireball Mail

Jim,

Here she comes, look at her roll
There she goes, eaten that coal
Watch her fly, look at her sail,
Let her by, by, by, the Fireball Mail

Let her go, look at her steam,
Here the low, whistle and scream
Like a hound dog wagging its tail,
Let her by, by, by, the Fireball Mail

Engineer, making up time,
Tracks are clear, look at her climb
See that freight, clear the rail,
I'll bet she's late, late, late, the Fireball Mail

Watch her swerve, look at her sway,
Get that curve out of the way
Watch her fly, look at her sail,
Let her by, by, by, the Fireball Mail

Verse:

I I I V
I I I-V I

 


Feast Here Tonight

Jim,

a.k.a Rabbit in a Log

There's a rabbit in the log and I ain't got my dog
How will I get him I know
I'll get me a briar and twist it in his hair
That way I'll get him I know

I know ( yes I know )
I know ( I surely know )
That's how I'll get him I know
I'll get me a briar and twist in his hair
That way I'll get him I know

I'll build me a fire and I'll cook that old hare
Roll him in the flames and make him brown
Have a feast here tonight while the moon is shining bright
And find me a place to lie down

To lie down ( to lie down )
To lay down ( to lay down )
Find me a place to lie down
Have a feast here tonight while the moon is shining bright
And find me a place to lie down

I'm going down the track and my coat ripped up my back
Soles on my shoes are nearly gone
A little ways ahead there's an old farmer's shed
That's where I'll rest my weary bones

Weary bones ( weary bones )
Lazy bones ( lazy bones )
That's where I'll rest my weary bones
A little way's ahead there's an old farmer's shed
That's where I'll rest my weary bones

Verse:

I I I V
I I I-V I

Chorus:

IV I I V
I I I-V I

 


Fare Thee Well Blues

Jim,

—Joe Callicott and Vol Stevens 1930

Told me early fall, you never had no man at all
Fare thee, baby, fare thee well
Told me early fall, you never had no man at all
Well you got more men than a two ton truck can haul

Told me to my face there's a good man in my place
Fare thee, baby, fare thee well
Told me to my face there's a good man in my place
Fare thee, baby, fare thee well

Told me this early spring when the birds began to sing
Fare thee, baby, fare thee well
Told me early spring when the birds began to sing
Well this the last chance, kid, to be round here with me

I told you early in June when the flowers began to bloom
Fare thee, baby, fare thee well
I told you early in June, when the flowers began to bloom
You can't do no better, then a good girl can take your room

When I asked you when I'll let your curtain down
Fare thee, baby, fare thee well
When I asked you when I let your curtain down
Well you kept tellin' me, please don't joke around

Go on, put on your nightgown, baby, lets we go lie down
Fare thee, baby, fare thee well
Go on, puttin' on your nightgown, baby, let's a—go lie down
Well it's the last chance shakin' in the day with you

Verse:

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

 

Everything is Broken

Jim,

—Bob Dylan

Broken lines, broken strings, broken threads, broken springs
Broken idols, broken heads, people sleeping in broken beds
Ain't no use jivin', ain't no use jokin', everything is broken

Broken bottles, broken plates, broken switches, broken gates
Broken dishes, broken parts, streets are filled with broken hearts
Broken words are never meant to be spoken, everything is broken

Seems like every time you stop and turn around
Someone else has just hit the ground

Broken cutters, broken saws, broken buckles, broken laws
Broken bodies, broken bones, broken voices on broken phones
Take a deep breath, feel like you're chokin', everything is broken

Every time you leave and go off some place
Things fall to pieces in my face

Broken hands on broken plows, broken treaties, broken vows
Broken pipes, broken tools, people bending broken rules
Hound dog howlin', bullfrog croakin', everything is broken

Verse:

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

Bridge:

V V IV IV

 

Every Humble Knee

Jim,

—Traditional

There seems in a heaven a father
Once more and again
I'll be your handmaid servant
Bowed down before thee
Put your loving arms all around me
Prop every leanin' side
Every humble knee surely must bow,
Surely must bow.

Hear this, heavenly father
Once more and again
I'll be your handmaid servant
Bowed down before thee
Put your loving arms all around me
Prop every leanin' side
Every humble knee surely must bow
Surely must bow.

I wouldn't bow for form or fashion
That side showed to the world
I'd bow down before you
According to your holy word
Put your loving arms all around me
Prop every leanin' side
Every humble knee surely must bow.

Well you said you'd be a mother
For the motherless
You said you'd be a father
For the fatherless too
You said if I would serve you
You'd be my father too
Put your loving arms all around me
Prop every leanin' side
Every humble knee surely must bow.

Verse:

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

 


Eight More Miles to Louisville

Jim,

—Louis "Grandpa" Jones

I've traveled o'er this country wide seeking fortune fair
Up and down the two coast lines I've traveled everywhere
From Portland East to Portland West back along the line
I'm going now to the place that's best that old hometown of mine

Eight more miles and Louisville will come into my view
Eight more miles on this old road and I'll never more be blue
I knew some day that I'd come back I knew it from the start
Eight more miles to Louisville the hometown of my heart

There's bound to be a gal somewhere that you like best of all
Mine lives down in Louisville she's long and she is tall
But she's the kind that you can't find a traveling through the land
I'm on my way this very day to win her heart and hand

Now I can picture in my mind a place we'll call our home
A humble little hut for two we'll never want to roam
The place that's right for that love sight is in those bluegrass hills
Where gently flows the Ohio by a place called Louisville

Verse:

I-V I-IV I-V I
I-V I-IV I V
IV I I V
I-V I-IV I-V I

Chorus:

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

 

East Virginia Blues

Jim,

—The Carter Family

I was born in East Virginia
North Carolina I did go
There I courted a fair young maiden
But her age I did not know

Oh her hair was dark and curly
And her cheeks were rosy red
On her breast she wore a lilly
Where I longed to lay my head

Molly dear, go ask your mother
If you my bride might ever be
If she says no, come back and tell me
And I'll run away with thee

No I'll not go ask my mother
Where she lies on her bed of rest
In her hand she holds a dagger
To kill the man that I love best

The ocean's deep and I can't wade it
And I have no wings to fly
I'll just get some blue—eyed boatman
For to row me o'er the tide

I'll go back to East Virginia
North Carolina ain't my home
I'll go back to East Virginia
Leave old North Carolina alone

I don't want your green back dollar
I don't want your watch and chain
All I want is you my darling
Say you'll take me back again

For you know I'd like to see you
At my door you're welcome in
At my gate I'll always greet you
For you're the girl I tried to win

Verse:

I I IV I
IV I V I