Ben Mcculloch chords by Steve Earle

Tuning: Half-Step Down (Eb Ab Db Gb Bb Eb)

Verse 1:
Am                               G               Am
We signed up in San Antone, my brother Paul and me
      G                               Am
To fight with Ben McCulloch and the Texas infantry
                                              G            Am
Well the poster said we'd get a uniform and seven bucks a week
            G                         Am
The best rations in the army and a rifle we could keep
                                         G                      Am
When I first laid eyes on the general I knew he was a fighting man
          G                          Am
He was every inch a soldier, every word was his command
                                                      G             Am
Well his eyes were cold as the lead and steel forged into tools of war
     G                               Am
He took the lives of many and the souls of many more
                                          G                  Am
Well they marched us to Missouri and we hardly stopped for rest
  G                                         Am
Then he made this speech and said, "We're coming to the test"
                                          G                Am
Well we've got to take Saint Louie boys before the Yankees Do
          G                               Am
If we control the Mississippi then the Federals are through
                                        G                 Am
Well they told us that our enemy would all be dressed in blue
             G                                     Am
Well they forgot about the winter's cold and the cursed fever too
                                        G               Am
My brother died at Wilson's Creek and Lord I seen him fall
     G                                         Am
We fell back to the Boston Mountains in the North of Arkansas

Chorus:
   G
Goddamn you Ben McCulloch
                                Am
I hate you more than any other man alive
      C   G   Am                                     G
And when you die you'll be a foot soldier just like me
         Am           G
In the Devil's infantry


Verse 2:
                                     G                Am
And on the way to Fayetteville we cursed McCulloch's name
        G                                                Am
And mourned the dead that we'd left behind and we was carrying the lame
                                       G           Am
I killed a boy the other night who'd never even shaved
         G                                         Am
I don't even know what I'm fighting for, I ain't never owned a slave
                                     G                   Am
So I snuck out of camp and then I heard the news next night
        G                          Am
The Yankees won the battle and McCulloch lost his life, yeah


Chorus:
   G
Goddamn you Ben McCulloch
                                Am
I hate you more than any other man alive
      C   G   Am                                     G
And when you die you'll be a foot soldier just like me
         Am           G
In the Devil's infantry