He Way I Should — Written by Iris DeMent
From The Album «The Way I Should» — Iris DeMent
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Capo 4th Fret
[Intro]
C D G G C D G G
G D G
A cold wind against my shoulder woke me up in the middle of the night
Em
An autumn leaf was scraping against my window
G
Like it was tryin’ hard to get inside
C D
And then a ghost that I had met before he kept me up till dawn
G C
And everything I thought was right was suddenly all wrong
D
He said «your score is looking pretty bad»
G
Then he asked me what it was that I had to show
G
So I went runnin’ down a list of things
D G
Some were real, but on some of them I lied
Em
‘Cause I felt I had to justify each breath that
G
I’d been breathin’ in this life
C D
Then I realized I was playing into someone else’s rules
G C
Tryin’ to keep my score up in a game I did not choose
D
Then I looked that ghost straight in the eye and said
G
«You’d better not be coming back by again»
G C
And it’s true that I don’t work near as hard
D
As you tell me that I’m supposed to
G C
I don’t run as fast as I could
D
But I live just the way I want to
G
And that’s the way I should
[Instrumental]
C D G C C D G G
G
October’s leaves were dancin’ ’round
D G
Like angels dressed in robes of red and gold
Em
But November’s come and gone now
G
And they’re lyin’ in the gutter out along the road
C D
They’re gonna make their way out to the ditch or someday to the sea
G C
But they’ll get to where they’re goin’ without the help of you or me
D
And if each life is just a grain of sand
G
I’m tellin’ you man, this grain of sand is mine
G C
And it’s true that I don’t work near as hard
D
As you tell me that I’m supposed to
G C
I don’t run as fast as I could
D
But I live just the way I want to
G
And that’s the way I should
C D
But I live just the way I want to
G
And that’s the way I should
[Outro. Repeat To Fade]
C D G G
Chords:
C = X32010
D = XX0232
Em = 022000
G = 320033
Transcribed by Jim Sparrow — 5th Feb 1998
Email: [email protected]