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