6/8, tempo 50, Blues Mo Slo, harmonika C
C F C
C F C
1. By the banks of the river, where the willows hang down
Am F C
and the wild birds all warble with a low moaning sound,
Am F C
down in the hollow, where the waters run cold,
F C
it was there I first listened to the lies that she told.
C F C
2. Now I lay on my bed and I can see her sweet face,
Am F C
the past I remember, time can not erase.
Am F C
The letter you wrote me, it was written in shame
F C
and I know that your conscience still echoes my name.
C F C F
3. Now the nights are so long, your sorrows run deep
C F C F
and nothing is worse, than a night without sleep,
C F C F
I’ll walk out alone and look at the sky,
C F C
to empty to sing, to lonesome to cry.
C F C
4. If the ladies were blackbirds and the ladies were thrushes
Am F C
I’d lie there for hours, in the chilly cold marshes,
Am F C
if the ladies were squirrels, with a high bushy tails
F C
I’d fill up my shotgun with rock salt and nails.