Date: Thu, 22 Jan 1998 09:46:36 +1300
From: «Kean, John»
Subject: CRD: Song for a Deckhand’s Daughter — James McMurtry
Song for a Deck Hand’s Daughter — James McMurtry
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
From «Too Long in the Wasteland».
Transcribed by John Kean ([email protected]).
Standard tuning, no capo.
INTRO:
C
, . , . , . , . , . , . , . , .
||——————|——————||
||—————-1-|—————1—||
||*——-0———|——0————*||
||*——2——-2—|——2——-2—*||
||—3—————|-3—————-||
||———-3——-|———3———||
*use variants on this strum pattern throughout
VERSE 1:
C Dm
He’d always whistle «Jolie Blonde»
Fmaj7 C
On his way out the back door on a Friday night
C Dm
So many times he just stayed gone
Fmaj7 C C/B
And rarely did he try to treat your Mama right
Am Em
Shut off the tractor with the field half mowed
F/C C
Set the brake and headed down the road
Am Em
Came home for Christmas, never said where he’d been
F/C
With no presents for the children
Am
Only stories for the men
CHORUS 1:
Am G(see riff at end)
Still your Mama called him Daddy
C C/B
She never told him no
Am G
Said she couldn’t help but love him
F/C Am
You wondered how it could be so
VERSE 2:
He’d work two weeks out on a river barge
She worked in the factory, never missed a day
He’d spend his week off holding up the bar
Never took him long to drink a deck hand’s pay
Wind off the river cut the lines on his face
And left him dreaming of some other place
Maybe Memphis town or Baton Rouge
When it’s cold in Cape Girardeau
There’s nothing much to do
CHORUS 2 (same as before)
SOLO:
Am G F/C Am
Am G F/C Am
Am G F/C Am
VERSE 3:
Am Em
And if his suitcase wasn’t standing in the hall
F/C C
He might not be coming home at all
Am Em
All the sides of him you never knew before
F/C
Would be drifting down the river
Am
To another back door
CHORUS 3: (chords as before)
Still your Mama called him Daddy
She couldn’t tell him no
Said she couldn’t help but love a man like that
You wondered how it could be so
OUTRO:
Am C/B C
CHORUS RIFF:
G
, . , . , . , . , . , . , . , . , . , . , . , . , . , . , . , .
||——————|——————|——————|——————||
||——0——-0—|——0——-0—|——0——-0—|——0——-0—||
||——0——-0—|——0——-0—|——0——-0—|——0——-0—||
||——0——-0—|-0h2-0—2p0-0—|——0——-0—|——0——-0—||
||———0h2——|——————|-0h2————-|-0——-2——-||
||-3—————|——————|———3——-|——————||
CHORDS: (bracketed notes indicate alternating bass notes)
C (3)32010
Dm x(0)0231
Fmaj7 x(3)3210
C/B x22010
Am (0)02210
Em 0(2)2000
F/C x3(3)21x
G 320003