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Mama Tried by Merle Haggard
Mama Tried
Tuning: E A D G B E
[Intro]
D
e|-----------------------------------|--pb12(13)-----------------------|
B|-----10-----10-----8-----7-----7---|-----------13--pb5(6)---/3--/3---|
G|---7------7------7-----7-----7---7-|---------------------5--/2--/2---|
D|-0------0------0-----0-----0-------|-------------------------0---0---|
A|-----------------------------------|---------------------------------|
E|-----------------------------------|---------------------------------|
[Verse 1]
D G D G
The first thing I remember knowing was a lonesome whistle blowin'
D A7
And a young un's dream of growin' up to ride
D G D G
On a freight train leavin' town, not knowin' where I'm bound
D A7 D
And no one could change my mind, but Mama tried
[Verse 2]
D G D G
One and only rebel child, from a family meek and mild
D A7
My Mama seemed to know what lay in store
D G D G
'Spite of all my Sunday learnin', toward the bad I kept on turnin'
D A7 D
'Til Mama couldn't hold me anymore
[Chorus]
D G D
And I turned twenty-one in prison doin' life without parole
Bm A7
No one could steer me right, but Mama tried, Mama tried
D G D
Mama tried to raise me better, but her pleading I denied,
A7 D
that leaves only me to blame, 'cause Mama tried
[Guitar Solo]
D G
e|--pb12(13)----------------------------|
B|-----------13--pb5(6)-------3---3-5-3-|
G|---------------------5--2/4---4-------|
D|--------------------------------------|
A|--------------------------------------|
E|--------------------------------------|
D A7 D
e|---------------------------------------------|
B|-----------------------------------pb5(6)r---|
G|-------------------------------------------5-|
D|---0-0-3-0-0-5-0-0-6-5-3-0-3-5---0-----------|
A|-4-------------------------------------------|
E|---------------------------------------------|
[Verse 3]
D G D G
Dear old Daddy, rest his soul, he left my mom a heavy load
D A7
She tried so very hard to fill his shoes
D G D G
Workin' hours without rest, wanted me to have the best
D A7 D
She tried to raise me right, but I refused
[Chorus]
D G D
And I turned twenty-one in prison doin' life without parole
Bm A7
No one could steer me right, but Mama tried, Mama tried
D G D
Mama tried to raise me better, but her pleading I denied,
A7 D
that leaves only me to blame, 'cause Mama tried
[Outro]
D
e|-----------------------------------|--pb12(13)-----------------------|
B|-----10-----10-----8-----7-----7---|-----------13--pb5(6)---/3--/3---|
G|---7------7------7-----7-----7---7-|---------------------5--/2--/2---|
D|-0------0------0-----0-----0-------|-------------------------0---0---|
A|-----------------------------------|---------------------------------|
E|-----------------------------------|---------------------------------|
| pb Pre-bend
| r Release
| / Slide up
------------------
version 2
[Verse]
D G
The first thing I remember know-in'
D G
was a lonesome whist-le blow-in,
D G A
And a young-on's dream of grow-in up to ride,
D G
On a freight train leav-in town,
D G
not know-in where I'm bound,
D A D
And no one could change my mind, but Ma-ma tried.
D G
One and on-ly reb-el child,
D G
From a fam-ily meek and mild,
D G A
My ma-ma seemed to know what lay in store,
D G
Spite all my Sun-day learn-in'
D G
towards the bad I kept on turn-in,
D A D
Til Ma-ma could-n't hold me an-y-more.
[Chorus]
D G
And I turned twenty-one in pris-on do-in life with-out
D G D A
pa-role, No one could steer me right but Ma-ma tried,
D
Mama tried. Ma-ma tried to raise me bet-ter, but her
G D A
plead-ing I de-nied, That leaves only me to blame,
D
cause Ma-ma tried.
[Verse]
D G
Dear ol' Dad-dy, rest his soul,
D G
left my mom a heav-y load,
D G A
She tried so very hard to fill his shoes,
D G
Work-in hou-rs with-out rest,
D G
Want-ed me to have the best,
D A D
She tried to raise me right but I re-fused
[Chorus]
D G
And I turned twenty-one in prison do-in life with-out
D G D A
pa-role, No one could steer me right but Ma-ma tried,
D
Mama tried. Ma-ma tried to raise me bet-ter, but her
G D
plead-ing I de-nied,
A
That leaves only me to blame cause Ma-ma tried..
------------------
version 3
Tuning: E A D G B E
Capo: 2nd fret
[Verse 1]
G C
The first thing I remember knowing
G C
Was a lonesome whistle blowing
G D
And a young'un's dream of growing up to ride
G C
On a freight train leaving town
G C
Not knowing where I'm bound
G D G
And no one could change my mind but mama tried
G C
One and only rebel child
G C
From a family meek and mild
G D
My mama seemed to know what lay in store
G C
Despite all my Sunday learning
G C
Towards the bad I kept on turning
G D G
'Til mama couldn't hold me anymore
[Chorus]
G C G
And I turned twenty-one in prison doing life without parole
C D
No one could steer me right but mama tried, mama tried
G C G
Mama tried to raise me better, but her pleading I denied
D G
That leaves only me to blame 'cause mama tried
[Verse 2]
G C
Dear old daddy, rest his soul
G C
Left my mom a heavy load
G D
She tried so very hard to fill his shoes
G C
Working hours without rest
G C
Wanted me to have the best
G D G
She tried to raise me right but I refused
[Chorus]
G C G
And I turned twenty-one in prison doing life without parole
C D
No one could steer me right but mama tried, mama tried
G C G
Mama tried to raise me better, but her pleading I denied
D G
That leaves only me to blame 'cause mama tried
------------------
version 4
[Intro]
(acoustic)
E|------5-----5-----3-----2-----2--|
B|---------------------------------|
G|---------------------------------|
D|----0-----0-----0-----0-----0----|
A|--0-----0-----0-----0-----0------|
E|---------------------------------|
[Lick 1]
(electric)
E|--pb14r12---------------------------|
B|----------13------------------------|
G|----------------pb7r5-------2--2----|
D|----------------------5-----0--0----|
A|------------------------------------|
E|------------------------------------|
[Verse]
D G D G
First thing I remember knowin' was a lonesome whistle blowin'
D G A7
And a young-on's dream of growing up to ride
D G D G
On a freight train leaving town, not knowing where I'm bound
D A7 D
And no one could change my mind, but Mama tried
One and only rebel child, from a family meek and mild
Mama seemed to know what lay in store
'Spite of all my Sunday learnin', toward the bad I kept on turnin'
'Til Mama couldn't hold me anymore
[Chorus]
D G D
And I turned twenty-one in prison doing life without parole
G D A7
No one could steer me right, but Mama tried, Mama tried
D G D
Mama tried to raise me better, but her pleading I denied,
A7 D
that leaves only me to blame, 'cause Mama tried
[Solo]
E|--pb14r12-----------------------------------|
B|----------13-----pb7r5-----------3---3-5-3--|
G|-----------------------5-----3/5---5--------|
D|--------------------------------------------|
A|--------------------------------------------|
E|--------------------------------------------|
E|-----------------------------------------------|
B|--------------------------------------pb7r5----|
G|--------------------------------------------5--|
D|------0-3-0-0-5-0-0-6-5-3-0-3-5-0--------------|
A|--0-3------------------------------------------|
E|-----------------------------------------------|
[Verse]
Dear old Daddy rest his soul, he left my mom a heavy load
She tried so very hard to fill his shoes
Working hours without rest, she wanted me to have the best
She tried to raise me right, but I refused
[Chorus]
D G D
And I turned twenty-one in prison doing life without parole
G D A7
No one could steer me right, but Mama tried, Mama tried
D G D
Mama tried to raise me better, but her pleading I denied,
A7 D
that leaves only me to blame, 'cause Mama tried
[Outro]
The end of the song is the same as the intro and lick 1.
| r Release bend
| pb Pre-bend to indicated pitch
| / Slide up
------------------
version 5
D G D G
First thing I remember knowin' was a lonesome whistle blowin'
D G A7
And a young-on's dream of growing up to ride
D G D G
On a freight train leaving town, not knowing where I'm bound
D A7 D
And no one could change my mind, but Mama tried
One and only rebel child, from a family meek and mild
My mama seemed to know what lay in store
'Spite of all my Sunday learnin', toward the bad I kept on turnin'
'Til Mama couldn't hold me anymore
CHORUS:
D G D
And I turned twenty-one in prison doing life without parole
Bm A7
No one could steer me right, but Mama tried, Mama tried
D G D
Mama tried to raise me better, but her pleading I denied,
A7 D
that leaves only me to blame, 'cause Mama tried
Dear old Daddy rest his soul, he left my mom a heavy load
She tried so very hard to fill his shoes
Working hours without rest, wanted me to have the best
She tried to raise me right, but I refused
CHORUS
------------------
version 6
Bar strings G, B, and e on the seventh fret then follow this picking pattern
Intro
Acoustic guitar
e|-----------------------------------------------------------------|
B|------7--------10---8---7----------------------------------------|
G|-----------7-----------------------------------------------------|
D|---0-------------------------------------------------------------| repeat pattern 2 to 4 times
A|-----------------------------------------------------------------|
E|-----------------------------------------------------------------|
Electric guitar intro
e|---12------------------------------------------------------------|
B|---------13---------9------------------0--0----------------------|
G|-------------------------10------------2--2----------------------|
D|-----------------------------------------------------------------|
A|-----------------------------------------------------------------|
E|-----------------------------------------------------------------|
The first thing I remember knowin'
Was a lonesome whistle blowin'
And a young un's dream of growin' up to ride
On a freight train leavin' town
Not knowin' where I'm bound
And no one could change my mind but Mama tried
One and only rebel child
From a family, meek and mild
My Mama seemed to know what lay in store
Despite all my Sunday learnin'
Towards the bad, I kept on turnin'
'Til Mama couldn't hold me anymore
And I turned twenty-one in prison doin' life without parole
No one could steer me right but Mama tried, Mama tried
Mama tried to raise me better, but her pleading, I denied
That leaves only me to blame 'cause Mama tried
Dear old Daddy, rest his soul
Left my Mom a heavy load
She tried so very hard to fill his shoes
Workin' hours without rest
Wanted me to have the best
She tried to raise me right but I refused
And I turned twenty-one in prison doin' life without parole
No one could steer me right but Mama tried, Mama tried
Mama tried to raise me better, but her pleading, I denied
That leaves only me to blame 'cause Mama tried
------------------
version 7
Solo
E--~12-----------------------------------------------------|
B-----13---------------------------------------------------|
G-------~9---5/7-7--7-H9-7---------------5----------~9-----|
D---------10------H9----------0-H4-0-5/6/7-7/6/5-------V10-|
A-------------------------3/5-----------------7/8-5--------|
E----------------------------------------------------------|
The first thing I remember knowin'
Was a lonesome whistle blowin'
And a young un's dream of growin' up to ride
On a freight train leavin' town
Not knowin' where I'm bound
And no one could change my mind but Mama tried
One and only rebel child
From a family, meek and mild
My Mama seemed to know what lay in store
Despite all my Sunday learnin'
Towards the bad, I kept on turnin'
'Til Mama couldn't hold me anymore
And I turned twenty-one in prison doin' life without parole
No one could steer me right but Mama tried, Mama tried
Mama tried to raise me better, but her pleading, I denied
That leaves only me to blame 'cause Mama tried
Dear old Daddy, rest his soul
Left my Mom a heavy load
She tried so very hard to fill his shoes
Workin' hours without rest
Wanted me to have the best
She tried to raise me right but I refused
And I turned twenty-one in prison doin' life without parole
No one could steer me right but Mama tried, Mama tried
Mama tried to raise me better, but her pleading, I denied
That leaves only me to blame 'cause Mama tried
~ Bend
/ Slide
H Hammer On
V Vibrato
------------------
version 8
Tuning: E A D G B E
[Verse 1]
D G D G
The first thing I remember knowin' was a lonesome whistle blowin',
D G A7
And a youngun's dream of growin' up to ride,
D G D G
On a freight train leavin' town, not knowin' where I'm bound.
D A7 D
And no one could change my mind but Momma Tried.
[Verse 2]
D G D G
One and only Rebel child from a fam'ly meek and mild
D G A7
My momma seemed to to know what lay in store,
D G D G
'Spite all my Sunday learnin' towards the bad I kept on turnin',
D A7 D
'Til momma couldn't hold me anymore.
[Chorus]
D G D
And I turned twenty-one in prison doin' life without parole,
Bm A7
No one could steer me right but Mamma Tried, Momma Tried
D G D
Momma Tried to raise me better but her pleading I denied
A7 D
And that leaves only me to blame, cause Momma Tried
[Verse 3]
D G D G
Dear ole' daddy, rest his soul left my mom a heavy load,
D G A7
She tried so very hard to feel his shoes,
D G D G
Workin' hours without rest, wanted me to have the best
D A7 D
She tried to raise me right but I refused.
[Chorus]
D G D
And I turned twenty-one in prison doin' life without parole,
Bm A7
No one could steer me right but Mamma Tried, Momma Tried
D G D
Momma Tried to raise me better but her pleading I denied
A7 D
And that leaves only me to blame, cause Momma Tried
-------------