Author: Jim

Red Wing

Jim,

—F.A Mills & Thurland Chattaway 1907

There once't lived an Indian maid
A shy little prairie maid
Who sang all day, her love song gay
While on the plains she whiled away the day
She loved a warrior bold
This shy little maid of old
But brave an' gay, he rode one day
To the battle far away

Chorus:
Now, the moon shines tonight on pretty Red Wing
The breezes sighing, the nightbirds crying
Far, o far, beneath the stars
Her love is sleeping
While Red Wings weeping
Her heart away

She watched for hm day and night
She kept all the camp fires bright
And under the stars each night she would lie
And dream of his coming bye an' bye
But when the braves returned
The heart of Red Wing yourned
And far, far, away, her warrior gay
Fell bravely in the frae

Verse:

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

Chorus:

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


And then there's Oscar Brand's version…

There once was an Indian maid who always was afraid
That some buckaroo would make it up her cou
As she lay sleeping in the shade.
She had an idea grand: she filled it up with sand.
And no buckaroo would get into her cou
And reach the promised land.

Chorus 1:
Oh, the Moon shines down on pretty Red Wing
As she lay sleeping, a cowboy creeping
With his one good eye he was a-peeping
He hoped to reach the promised land.

Now, he was a cowboy wise and got upon her thighs;
With an old rubber boot on the end of his toot
He made poor Red Wing open up her eyes.
But, once she came to life, she grabbed her Bowie knife.
With one quick pass, this Indian lass shortened his love life.

Chorus 2:
Oh, the Moon shines down on pretty Red Wing
As she lay sleeping, her trophy keeping.
And, no more do the boys come whoring.
[alt: And no longer do the boys try scoring.]
And Red Wing's happy all her life!


Reunion

Jim,

—Bob Amos

There are songs that we play at the end of the day,
And their sweet words and melodies tell
Of a wonderful time when all friends reunite
And never again say farewell.

Chorus:
And I'll meet you there, I will meet you there,
I will meet you there, my friends.
I will lead you over the hills
In the land of our long journeys' end,
And we'll all sing together again.

Oh, it's sad when you find with the passage of time
that the moments too soon slip away,
so instead let us hold to the wonderful hope
that we'll all be together someday.

Chorus
Chorus

Verse:

I I I I
V V I I  :|

Chorus:

VIm IIIm IV V
IV – V I V VIm
V I

If I Could See the World

Jim,

—Patsy Cline
If I could see the world through the eyes of a child
What a wonderful world this would be
There'd be no trouble and no strife
Just a big happy life with a bluebird in every tree

Chorus:
I could see right, no wrong, I could see good, no bad
I could see all the good things in life I've never had
If I could see the world through the eyes of a child
What a wonderful world this would be

If I could see the world through the eyes of a child
Smiling faces would greet me all the while
Like a lovely work of art It would warm my weary heart
Just to see through the eyes of a child

Chorus

3/4

Verse:

I IV – I I V
I IV – I I – V I

Chorus:

IV I II II – V
I IV – I I – V I

Sunny Days (Are Comin' Once Again)

Jim,

—Greg Poulos

Chorus:
Sunny days are comin' once again
Blue skies are comin' round the bend
Just a couple more rooster calls
And that'll be no time at all
Sunny days are comin' once again

We've been hidin' out for much too long
What seemed right now feels so very wrong
Such a cruel, wicked twist
The way we've been apart like this
Sunny days are comin' once again

Chorus

It ain't gonna rain round here no more
The last few drops are dryin' on the door
I reckon I should wind my watch
And find the key for this old clock
Sunny days are comin' once again

Chorus
Chorus

Verse & Chorus:

I – V I IV I
IV I I – V I

Catfish John

Jim,

—Bob Mcdill & Allen Reynolds

Chorus:
Mama said don't go near that river
Don't be hangin' around old catfish John
Come the morning I'd always be there
Walking in his footsteps in the sweet delta dawn.

Let me dream of another morning
And the time so long ago
Where the sweet magnolias blossomed
Cotton fields as white as snow.

Catfish John was a river hobo
Lived and died on the river bend
Lookin' back I still remember
I was glad to be his friend.

Born a slave in the town of Vicksburg
Traded for a chestnut mare
Still he never spoke in anger
Though his load was hard to bear.

Chorus:

I IV I I – V
I IV I V – I

Verse:

IV I IV I
IV I I – V I



Old Age Pension Check

Jim,

—Roy Acuff

When our old age pension check comes to our door,
We won't have to dread the poor house anymore.
Though we're old and thin and gray,
Good times will be back to stay,
When our old age pension check comes to our door.

When her old age pension check comes to her door,
Dear old grandma won't be lonesome any more.
She'll be waiting at the gate,
Every night she'll have a date,
When her old age pension check comes to her door.

Grow a flowing long white beard and use a cane,
'Cause you're in your second childhood, don't complain.
Life will just begin at sixty,
And we'll all feel very frisky,
When our old age pension check comes to our door.

Powder and paint will be abolished on that day,
Ankle skirts will then be brought back into play.
Painted cheeks will be the rage,
And old maids will tell their age,
When their old age pension check comes to our door.

All the drug stores will go bankrupt on that day,
For cosmetics, they will all be put away.
I'll put the flapper on the shelf,
And get a grandma for myself,
When her old age pension check comes to her door.

There's a man that turned this country upside-down
With his old age pension rumor going 'round.
If you want in on the fun,
Send your dimes to Washington,
And that old age pension man will be around.

Verse:

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



Old-Time Religion

Jim,

—Peter Seeger's lyrics to traditional 1873 gospel

Chorus:
Give me that old time religion
Give me that old time religion
Give me that old time religion
It's good enough for me.

We will pray with Aphrodite,
We will pray with Aphrodite,
She wears that see-through nightie,
And it's good enough for me.

We will pray with Zarathustra,
We'll pray just like we use ta,
I'm a Zarathustra booster,
And it's good enough for me.

We will pray with those Egyptians,
Build pyramids to put our crypts in,
Cover subways with inscriptions,
And it's good enough for me.

We will pray with those old druids,
They drink fermented fluids,
Waltzing naked though the woo-ids,
And it's good enough for me.

We'll do dances to bring water,
Sacrifice animals for slaughter,
Sacrifice our sons and daughters,
And it's good enough for me.

Harry Krishna he must laugh on,
To see me dressed in safron,
With my hair that's only half-on,
It's good enough for me.

I'll arise at early morning,
When my Lord gives me the warning,
That the solar age is dawning,
And it's good enough for me.

Verse & Chorus:

I V I V – I  :|
Some more funny verses:

Harry Krishna he must laugh on,
To see me dressed in safron,
With my hair that's only half-on,
But it's good enough for me.

We could follow dear old Buddha,
You know no god is cuter,
Comes in plastic, wood and pewter,
It's good enough for me.

We can lay our cares on Isis,
And she'll see us through our crisis,
She's never raised her prices,
And she's good enough for me.

Let us sing a verse for Thor,
Though he leaves the maidens sore,
They always come back for more,
And he's good enough for me.

Poor old Odin we could follow,
Like a Viking we could holler,
Then we'd all enjoy Valhalla
It's good enough for me.

Let us worship old Jehova
All you other gods move over
Cuz this one's taken over,
It's good enough for me.

Original vanilla version:

Refrain:
Give me that old time religion,
Give me that old time religion,
Give me that old time religion,
It's good enough for me.

It was good for Paul and Silas,
It was good for Paul and Silas,
It was good for Paul and Silas,
It's good enough for me.

Refrain

It was good for the Hebrew children,
It was good for the Hebrew children,
It was good for the Hebrew children,
It's good enough for me.

Refrain

It was good for our mothers,
It was good for our mothers,
It was good for our mothers,
It's good enough for me.

Refrain

Makes me love ev'rybody,
Makes me love ev'rybody,
Makes me love ev'rybody,
It's good enough for me.

Refrain



Brown's Ferry Blues

Jim,

—Alton Delmore

Hard luck papa can't stand his ground,
He was a good papa, but he done gone down.
Lawd, Lawd, got them Brown's Ferry Blues!

Hard luck papa standing in the rain,
If the world was corn he couldn't buy grain.
Lawd, Lawd, he got them Brown's Ferry Blues!

Two old maids, playing in the sand,
Each one a-wishin' that the other'n was a man.
Lawd, Lawd, he got them Brown's Ferry Blues!

Two old maids done lost their style,
If you want to be lucky you've got to smile.
Lawd, Lawd, he got them Brown's Ferry Blues!

Hard luck papa countin' his toes,
You can smell his feet wherever he goes.
Lawd, Lawd, he got them Brown's Ferry Blues!

Hard luck papa can't do his stuff,
The trouble with him, he's been too rough.
Lawd, Lawd, he got them Brown's Ferry Blues!

Early to bed and early to rise,
And your girl goes out with other guys.
Lawd, Lawd, he got them Brown's Ferry Blues!

If you don't b'lieve it, try it yourself;
I tried it but I got left.
Lawd, Lawd, he got them Brown's Ferry Blues!

Verse (roughly):

I I IV IV
I I* V V
I I IV IV
I V* I I

*Gets extra beat singing, but not instrumental break


Doc's Lyrics:

Hard luck papa comin' down the lane
Mama give him back his walkin' cane
Lord, Lord, I got them Brown's Ferry blues
Thrown it away and he went to town
To see that woman and now he's down
Lord, Lord, I got them Brown's Ferry blues

Hard luck papa gettin' too tired
If he don't quit drinkin', he'll be high as a kite
Lord, Lord, I got them Brown's Ferry blues
He's drinkin' that block and tackle kind
He can walk a block and tackle a lion
Lord, Lord, I got them Brown's Ferry blues

I walked up to my girl's old man
And I asked him for my true love's hand
Lord, Lord, I got them Brown's Ferry blues
He said, "You la-la-little galoot"
And instead of her hand, I got his foot
Lord, Lord, I got them Brown's Ferry blues

Hard luck papa standin' in the rain
If the world was corn, he couldn't buy grain
Lord, Lord, I got them Brown's Ferry blues
He runs around in secondhand clothes
You can smell his feet wherever he goes
Lord, Lord, I got them Brown's Ferry blues

Revenue man took my gin
I hope they won't come back again
Lord, Lord, I got them Brown's Ferry blues
Took my sweetie with them too
'Cause she'd had a little drink or two
Lord, Lord, I got them Brown's Ferry blues
Said that's why he took her

Not Gonna Cry Over You

Jim,

—A.J. Lee

My little darlin' you took my heart
I loved you so, I loved you true
You've found another while I was sleepin'
Not gonna cry cry cry over you

Chorus
I don't want you, crawlin' near
I've heard all I need to hear
I'll find another, one that's true
Not gonna cry cry cry over you

Now come tell me of your love
You were the one I'd fallen to
Now you're gone, and I'm not dying
Not gonna cry cry cry over you

Chorus

Are you happy now it's over
Are you happy as can be
Well I'm long gone, with another
You're gonna cry cry cry over me

Chorus

I'll find another, one that's true
Not gonna cry cry cry over you

Verse:

I I I I
I I V V
III III IV IV
I V I I

Chorus:

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

My Heart Skips a Beat

Jim,

—Buck Owens

Chorus:
Oh, my heart skips a beat when we
walk down the street
I feel a trembling in my knees
And just to know you're mine until the end of time
Makes my heart skip a beat

Well, I did a double take the day I met you
My heart turned a flip as I stood next to you
And I knew right there I never could forget you
For you are my every dream come true every dream come true

Chorus

You came into my life without a warning
And you turned my cloudy skies from gray to blue
You're my sunshine that comes up every morning
Yes you are my every dream come true

Chorus:

I IV V I
I IV V I

Verse:

I V V I
I IV V I