The Kid From Spavinaw chords by Tom Russell

• Capo on 5th

CAPO: 5

Intro: C

verse 1
                  F
I was born in Oklahoma
                C
Nineteen thirty-one
                    F
Outside the town of Spavinaw
                              C     F
Where the red dust clouds the sun
                       G
And I ran beneath your diamond skies
      C                   F
And I drank your waves of grain
     Em           Am
My name is Mickey Mantle, boys
    Bb             G
And baseball is my game

verse 2
   C                  F
My father's name was 'Mutt', boy
                           C
And he worked down in the mines
                        F
He pitched to me in the evening
                    C       F
At least a thousand times
                  G
A thousand times again
      C                F
In my nightmare and my dreams
             Em                     Am
You're gonna live in the house that Ruth built, kid
             Bb               G
You're gonna make that Yankee team


verse 3
      C                 F
Sure enough, the Yankee scout comes driving
                  C
Right down Route 66
                        F
He'd have never come to Spavinaw
                    C
Class D ball in the sticks
      F                            G
But I happened to be playing in an old wood ballpark
        C             F
Way out on the Mother Road
     Em              Am
That Yankee scout he signed me
      Bb             G
And I went up to the show


verse 4
       C               F
Strike 1, that was the drinking
                       C
Strike 2, there go the knees
                        F
Then my old man died in Denver
                    C
Some type of lung disease
     F                   G
When god starts throwing changeups
          C                  F
You can't swing with fame or wealth
       Em                  Am
If I'd known I's gonna live this long
    Bb              G
I'd taken care of myself


Instrumental
G  C  F    C    F    C


Verse 5
                           F
I don't miss the lights of Times Square
                           C
I don't miss Toots Shore's bar
                           F
I miss my old man pitching baseball
                         C
Near the shed in our backyard
  F                 G
I wish that he were still around
             C              F
To see these trophies on my shelf
         Em                       Am
If I'd a-known I was going to live this long
    Bb                     G
I'd taken better care of myself


Outro:
      C           F
I was born in Oklahoma
                C
Nineteen thirty-one
                    F
Outside the town of Spavinaw
                              C
Where the red dust clouds the sun