Chords with lyrics
Tuning: G C E A (G C E A)
Difficulty: Intermediate
CHORDS
g-C-E-A d-G-B-E
E 1-4-0-2 2-1-0-0
Esus4 2-4-0-2 2-2-0-0
C#m 1-4-4-4 2-1-2-0
A 2-1-0-0 2-2-2-0
B 4-3-2-2 4-4-4-2
B7 2-3-2-2 1-2-0-2
G#m 1-3-4-2 1-4-4-4
Asus2 4-4-0-0 2-2-0-0
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Intro:
soprano C baritone G
Esus4 Esus4
E E E E
1 + 2 + 3 + 4 + 1 + 2 + 3 + 4 +
A|2-2-2-2---2-2-2-| E|0-0-0-0---0-0-0-|
E|0-0-0-0---0-0-0-| B|0-0-0-0---0-0-0-|
C|4-4-4-4---4-4-4-| G|1-1-1-1---2-2-0-|
g|1-1-1-1---2-2-1-| d|2-2-2-2---2-2-2-|
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Intro:
| E Esus4 | E Esus4 | E Esus4 | E |
Verse: 1
E C#m
Oh, the ragman draws circles
E C#m
Up and down the block
E C#m
I’d ask him what the matter was
A B (7)
But I know that he don’t talk
A E
And the ladies treat me kindly
C#m E
And they furnish me with tape
C#m E
But deep inside my heart
A E
I know I can’t escape
G#m
Oh Mama, can this really be the end?
E B C#m
To be stuck inside of Mobile,
E Asus2 E
With the Memphis blues again? bass: E, D, B, A, G#, E:
Verse: 2
E C#m
Well, Shakespeare, he’s in the alley
E C#m
With his pointed shoes and his bells
E C#m
Speaking to some French girl
A B
Who says she knows me well
A E
And I would send a message
C#m E
To find out if she’s talked
C#m E
But the post office has been stolen
A E
And the mailbox is locked
G#m
Oh Mama, can this really be the end?
E B C#m
To be stuck inside of Mobile,
E A Asus2 E
With the Memphis blues again? bass: E, D, B, A, G#, E:
Verse: 3
E C#m
Mona tried to tell me
E C#m
To stay away from the train line
E C#m
She said that all the railroad men
A B
Just drink up your blood like wine
A E
An’ I said, “Oh, I didn’t know that
C#m E
But then again, there’s only one I’ve met
C#m E
An’ he just smoked my eyelids
A E
An’ punched my cigarette”
G#m
Oh Mama, can this really be the end?
E B C#m
To be stuck inside of Mobile,
E A Asus2 E
with the Memphis blues again? bass: E, D, B, A, G#, E:
Verse: 4
E C#m
Grandpa died last week
E C#m
And now he’s buried in the rocks
E C#m
But everybody still talks about
A B
How badly they were shocked
A E
But me, I expected it to happen
C#m E
I knew he’d lost control
C#m E
When he built a fire on Main Street
A E
And shot it full of holes
G#m
Oh Mama, can this really be the end?
E B C#m
To be stuck inside of Mobile,
E A Asus2 E
With the Memphis blues again? bass: E, D, B, A, G#, E:
Verse: 5
E C#m
Now the senator came down here
E C#m
Showing ev’ryone his gun
E C#m
Handing out free tickets
A B
To the wedding of his son
A E
An’ me, I nearly got busted
C#m E
An’ wouldn’t it be my luck
C#m E
To get caught without a ticket
A E
And be discovered beneath a truck
G#m
Oh Mama, is this really the end?
E B C#m
To be stuck inside of Mobile,
E A Asus2 E
With the Memphis blues again? bass: E, D, B, A, G#, E:
Verse: 6
E C#m
Now the preacher looked so baffled
E C#m
When I asked him why he dressed
E C#m
With twenty pounds of headlines
A B
Stapled to his chest
A E
But he cursed me when I proved to him
C#m E
Then I whispered, “Not even you can hide
C#m E
You see, you’re just like me
A E
I hope you’re satisfied”
G#m
Oh Mama, can this really be the end?
E B C#m
To be stuck inside of Mobile,
E A Asus2 E
with the Memphis blues again? bass: E, D, B, A, G#, E:
Verse: 7
E C#m
Now the rainman gave me two cures
E C#m
Then he said, “Jump right in”
E C#m
The one was Texas medicine
A B
The other was just railroad gin
A E
An’ like a fool I mixed them
C#m E
An’ it strangled up my mind
C#m E
An’ now people just get uglier
A E
An’ I have no sense of time
G#m
Oh Mama, can this really be the end?
E B C#m
To be stuck inside of Mobile,
E Asus2 E
with the Memphis blues again? bass: E, D, B, A, G#, E:
Verse: 8
E C#m
When Ruthie says come see her
E C#m
In her honky-tonk lagoon
E C#m
Where I can watch her waltz for free
A B
’Neath her Panamanian moon
A E
An’ I say, “Aw come on now
C#m E
You know you know about my debutante”
C#m E
An’ she says, “Your debutante just knows what you need
A E
But I know what you want”
G#m
Oh Mama, can this really be the end?
E B C#m
To be stuck inside of Mobile,
E Asus2 E
with the Memphis blues again? bass: E, D, B, A, G#, E:
Verse: 9
E C#m
Now the bricks lay on Grand Street
E C#m
Where the neon madmen climb
E C#m
They all fall there so perfectly
A B
It all seems so well timed
A E
An’ here I sit so patiently
C#m E
Waiting to find out what price
C#m E
You have to pay to get out of
A E
Going through all these things twice
G#m
Oh Mama, is this really the end?
E B C#m
To be stuck inside of Mobile,
E Asus2 E :
with the Memphis blues again?
Coda:(harp)
| E | % | % | % |
| E B | C#m E | Asus2 Asus2 | E
last three bars: break on every chord:
