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Song For A Deckhands Daughter

James Mcmurtry

Text File

#----------------------------------PLEASE NOTE---------------------------------#
#This file is the author's own work and represents their interpretation of the #
#song. You may only use this file for private study, scholarship, or research. #
#------------------------------------------------------------------------------#

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 (keanj@agresearch.cri.nz).

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