Tuning: Standard (E A D G B E) Verse 1: C F C The summer sun was beating down, no pity would it show. C G George Chesters office air conditioner would no longer go. C F C As pools of sweat rolled off his brow he had one reverie. C G C He saw himself with his wife and kids in his cottage by the sea. Verse 2: C F C He paid for his car at the parking lot which gave the poor man chills. C G \u2028The attendant laughed and walked away thumbing a roll of bills.\u2028 C F C He started the engine with trembling hands at the end of a long, hard day. C G C \u2028And placing himself in the hands of God he drove to the long freeway.
Verse 3: C F C The traffic stretched far as the eye could see as bumper to bumper they sped.\u2028 C G They drove at supernatural speed, which filled his heart with dread. C F C \u2028Sometimes they stopped for an hour or more and a thousand horns would blow.\u2028 C G C George Chester's eyes rolled back in his head and his poor brain started to go. Verse 4: C F C He came at last to the turnpike gate and he laid his money down.\u2028 C G He took the first turn to the right and he followed the curve around. C F C \u2028He took each bend of the cloverleaf, he followed every sign. C G C \u2028And when he came back to the same tollgate, he gave them another dime. Verse 5: C F C His hands were tight on the steering wheel, his lips and throat were dry. C G \u2028He swore by all that he held dear he'd make it through or die.\u2028 C F C He took the first turn to the right the cloverleaf to go through. C G C \u2028He was quite sure of his success 'til the tollgate hove in view. Verse 6: C F C And now they say when the Moon is full and the cloverleaf is still, C G C\u2028 The sound of an engine can be heard labouring up the hill. C F C \u2028A dime drops in the toll machine in the cool of a summer's night,\u2028 C G C And eternally that poor car takes the first turn to the right. (Words and music by Tom Paxton, 1965)
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