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American Recordings Full Album by Johnny Cash
American Recordings Full Album
Tuning:E A D G B E
Capo:no capo
# Title
1. Delia’s Gone
2. Let the Train Blow the Whistle
3. The Beast in Me
4. Drive On
5. Why Me Lord
6. Thirteen
7. Oh, Bury Me Not (Introduction: A Cowboy’s Prayer)
8. Bird on a Wire
9. Tennessee Stud
10. Down There by the Train
11. Redemption
12. Like a Soldier
13. The Man Who Couldn’t Cry
1.) "Delia's Gone"
[Verse 1]
A D
Delia, oh, Delia
A A7
Delia all my life
D
If I hadn't have shot poor Delia
B7 E
I'd have had her for my wife
A D A E A
Delia's gone, one more round, Delia's gone
[Verse 2]
A D
I went up to Memphis
A A7
And I met Delia there
D
Found her in her parlor
B7 E
And I tied her to her chair
A D A E A
Delia's gone, one more round, Delia's gone
[Verse 3]
A D
She was low down and trifling
A A7
And she was cold and mean
D
Kind of evil make me want to
B7 E
Grab my sub-machine
A D A E A
Delia's gone, one more round, Delia's gone
[Verse 4]
A D
First time I shot her
A A7
I shot her in the side
D
Hard to watch her suffer
B7 E
But with the second shot she died
A D A E A
Delia's gone, one more round, Delia's gone
[Verse 5]
A D
But jailer, oh, jailer
A A7
Jailer, I can't sleep
D
'Cause all around my bedside
B7 E
I hear the patter of Delia's feet
A D A E A
Delia's gone, one more round, Delia's gone
[Verse 6]
A D
So if your woman's devilish
A A7
You can let her run
D
Or you can bring her down and do her
B7 E
Like Delia got done
A D A E A
Delia's gone, one more round, Delia's gone
A D A E A
Delia's gone, one more round, Delia's gone
2.) "Let the Train Blow the Whistle"
*Capo on 2nd fret*
[Intro]
G
[Verse 1]
G
I don't want no aggravation
G
When my train has left the station
C G
If you're there or not, I may not even know
Bm7
Have a round and remember
C G
Things we did that weren't so tender
D7 G
Let the train blow the whistle when I go
[Verse 2]
G
On my old guitar, sell tickets
G
So someone can finally pick it
C G
And tell the girls down at the Ritz I said hello
Bm7
Tell the gossipers and liars
C G
I will see them in the fire
D7 G
Let the train blow the whistle when I go
[Chorus]
C G
Let her blow, let her blow
D7
Long and loud and hard and happy, let her blow
G Bm7
No regrets, all my debts
C G
Will be paid when I get laid
D7 G
Let her blow, let her blow, let her blow
[Verse 3]
G
You’ll be left without excuses
G
For the evils and abuses
C G
Down to today from years and years ago
Bm7
And have yourself another toke
C G
From my basket full of smoke
D7 G
And let the train blow the whistle when I go
[Chorus]
C G
Let her blow, let her blow
D7
Long and loud and hard and happy, let her blow
G Bm7
No regrets, all my debts
C G
Will be paid when I get laid
D7 G
Let her blow, let her blow, let her blow
D7 G
Let her blow, let her blow, let her blow
3.) "The Beast in Me"
[Intro]
C
[Verse 1]
C
The beast in me
F G C
Is caged by frail and fragile bars
F G C
Restless by day, and by night
Bb D7
Rants and rages at the stars
F G C
God help the beast in me
[Verse 2]
C
The beast in me
F G C
Has had to learn to live with pain
F G C
And how to shelter from the rain
F G C
And in the twinkling of an eye
Bb D7
Might have to be restrained
F G C
God help the beast in me
[Bridge]
E
Sometimes it tries to kid me
F
That it's just a teddy bear
C
And even somehow manage to vanish in the air
G
And that is when I must beware
[Verse 3]
C
Of the beast in me
F G C
That everybody knows
F G C
They've seen him out dressed in my clothes
Bb D7 F C
Patently unclear if it's New York or New Year
F G C F
God help the beast in me
G C
The beast in me
4.) "Drive On"
[Intro]
E
[Verse 1]
E
Well, I got a friend named Whiskey Sam
A
He was my boonie rat buddy for a year in 'Nam
B7
He said, "I think my country got a little off track.
E B7 E
Took 'em twenty-five years to welcome me back."
E
But, it's better than not comin' back at all
A
Many a good man I saw fall
B7
And even now, every time I dream
E B7 E
I hear the men and the monkeys in the jungle scream
[Chorus]
E
Drive on, it don't mean nothin'
B7 E
My children love me, but they don't understand
A E
And I got a woman who knows her man
E
Drive on, it don't mean nothin'
B7 E
It don't mean nothin', drive on
[Verse 2]
E
Well, I remember one night, Tex and me
A
Rappelled in on a hot L.Z.
B7
We had our 16's on rock and roll
E B7 E
And with all of that fire, I was scared and cold
E
I was crazy and I was wild
A
And I have seen the tiger smile
B7
I spit in a bamboo viper's face
E B7 E
And I'd be dead, but by God's grace...
[Chorus]
E
Drive on, it don't mean nothin'
B7 E
My children love me, but they don't understand
A E
And I got a woman who knows her man
E
Drive on, it don't mean nothin'
B7 E
It don't mean nothin', drive on
[Verse 3]
E
It was a slow walk in a sad rain
A
And nobody tried to be John Wayne
B7
I came home but Tex did not
E B7 E
And I can't talk about the hit he got
E
But I got a little limp now when I walk
A
And I got a little tremolo when I talk
B7
But my letter read from Whiskey Sam,
E B7 E
"You're a walking talking miracle from Vietnam"
[Chorus]
E
Drive on, it don't mean nothin'
B7 E
My children love me, but they don't understand
A E
And I got a woman who knows her man
E
Drive on, it don't mean nothin'
B7 E
It don't mean nothin', drive on
5.) "Why Me Lord"
[Intro]
A E B7 E B7
[Verse 1]
E A
Why me Lord? What have I ever done
E B7
To deserve even one of the blessings I've known?
E A
Why me Lord? What did I ever do
E B7 E E7
That was worth love from you and the kindness you've shown?
[Chorus]
A E
Lord help me, Jesus, I've wasted it
B7 E E7
So help me, Jesus, I know what I am
A E
Now that I know that I've needed you
B7 E B7
So help me, Jesus, my soul's in your hands
[Verse 2]
E A
Try me Lord if you think there's a way
E B7
That I can repay what I've taken from you
E A
Maybe Lord I could show someone else
E B7 E E7
What I've been through myself on my way back to you
[Chorus]
A E
Lord help me, Jesus, I've wasted it
B7 E E7
So help me, Jesus, I know what I am
A E
Now that I know that I've needed you
B7 E
So help me, Jesus, my soul's in your hands
B7 A
Jesus, my soul's in your hands.
E
6.) "Thirteen"
[Intro]
Am
[Verse 1]
Am D Am
Bad luck wind been blowin' at my back
D C Am
I was born to bring trouble to wherever I'm at
D Am
Got the number 13 tattooed on my neck
D C Am
When the ink starts to itch then the black will turn to red
[Chorus]
D Am
I was born in the soul of misery
D Am
Never had me a name
D C E Am
They just gave me the number when I was young
[Verse 2]
Am D Am
Got a long line of heartache, I carry it well
D C Am
The list of lives I've broken reach from here to Hell
D Am
Bad luck wind been blowin' at my back
D C Am
I pray you don't look at me, I pray I don't look back
[Chorus]
D Am
I was born in the soul of misery
D Am
Never had me a name
D C E Am
They just gave me the number when I was young
D Am
I was born in the soul of misery
D Am
Never had me a name
D C E Am
They just gave me the number when I was young
[Outro]
D C E Am
They just gave me the number when I was young
Am
7.) "Oh, Bury Me Not (Introduction: A Cowboy’s Prayer)"
*Capo on 2nd fret*
[Intro]
A
[Verse]
A
Lord, I've never lived where churches grow.
E
I loved creation better as it stood
E
that day you finished it so long ago
A
and looked upon your work and called it good.
A
I know that others find you in the light
E
that sifted down through tinted window panes,
E
and yet I seem to feel you near tonight
A
in this dim, quiet starlight on the plains.
A
I thank you, Lord, that I'm placed so well,
E
that you've made my freedom so complete,
E
that I'm no slave to whistle, clock or bell,
A
nor weak-eyed prisoner of Waller Street.
A
Just let me live my life as I've begun
E
and give me work that's open to the sky.
E
Make me a partner of the wind and sun,
A
and I won't ask a life that's soft or high.
A
Let me be easy on the man that's down,
E
let me be square and generous with all.
E
I'm careless sometimes, Lord, when I'm in town,
A
but never let ‘em say I'm mean or small.
A
Make me as big and open as the plains
E
and honest as the horse between my knees;
E
clean as the wind that blows behind the rains,
A
free as the hawk that circles down the breeze.
A
Forgive me, Lord, if sometimes I forget.
E
You know about the reasons that are hid.
E
You understand the things that gall or fret.
A
Well, you knew me better than my mother did.
A
Just keep an eye on all that's done and said
E
And right me sometimes when I turn aside
E
And guide me on that long, dim trail ahead
A
that stretches upward toward the great divide.
[Chorus]
N.C. A
"Oh, bury me not on the lone prairie."
E
These words came low and mournfully
A
From the pallid lips of a youth who lay
E A
On his dying bed at the close of day.
N.C. A
"Oh, bury me not," and his voice failed there,
E
But we took no heed to his dying prayer.
A
In a shallow grave just six by three,
E A
We buried him there on the lone prairie.
8.) "Bird on a Wire"
[Intro]
F C7 F
[Verse 1]
F C7 F Bb
Like a bird on a wire, like a drunk in a midnight choir
F C7 F C7
I have tried in my ways to be free
F C7 F Bb
Like a fish on a hook, like a knight in some old-fashioned book
F C7 F
I have saved all my ribbons for thee
[Chorus 1]
Bb F
And if I, if I have been unkind
G C7
I just hope you, will let it go by
Bb F
And if I, if I have been untrue
G C7
I hope you know, it was never to you
[Verse 2]
F C7 F Bb
Like a baby stillborn, like a beast with his horn.
F C7 F C7
I have torn everyone who reached out to me
F C7 F Bb
But I swear by this song and by all that I have done wrong
F C7 F
I'll make it all up to thee
[Chorus 2]
Bb F
I saw a young man, leaning on his wooden crutch
G C7
He called out to me, "Don't ask for so much."
Bb F
And a young woman, leaning in her darkened door
G C7
She cried out to me, "Why not ask for more?"
[Outro]
F C7 F Bb
Like a bird, on a wire, like a drunk in a midnight choir
F C7 Bb
I have tried in my ways to be free
F
9.) "Tennessee Stud"
*Capo on 2nd fret*
[Intro]
A
[Verse 1]
A
Back about eighteen and twenty-five
G
I left Tennessee very much alive
A
I never would've made it through the Arkansas mud
E A
If I hadn't been riding on the Tennessee Stud
[Verse 2]
A
Had some trouble with my sweetheart's pa
G
One of her brothers was a bad outlaw
A
I wrote a letter to my Uncle Fudd
E A
And I rode away on the Tennessee Stud
[Chorus]
A G A
The Tennessee Stud was long and lean
D C E
The color of the sun and his eyes were green
A
He had the nerve and he had the blood
E A
There never was a horse like the Tennessee Stud
[Verse 3]
A
Drifted on down into no man's land
G
Across the river called the Rio Grande
A
Raced my horse with the Spaniard's foe
E A
'Til I got me a skin full of silver and gold
[Verse 4]
A
Me and the gambler, we couldn't agree
G
We got in a fight over Tennessee
A
Pulled our guns and he fell with a thud
E A
And I rode away on the Tennessee Stud
[Chorus]
A G A
The Tennessee Stud was long and lean
D C E
The color of the sun and his eyes were green
A
He had the nerve and he had the blood
E A
There never was a horse like the Tennessee Stud
[Verse 5]
A
I rode right back across Arkansas
G
I whipped her brother and I whipped her pa
A
I found that girl with the golden hair
E A
She was riding on a Tennessee Mare
[Verse 6]
A
Purty little baby on the cabin floor
G
Little horse colt playing 'round the door
A
I love the girl with the golden hair
E A
And the Tennessee Stud loves the Tennessee Mare
[Chorus]
A G A
The Tennessee Stud was long and lean
D C E
The color of the sun and his eyes were green
A
He had the nerve and he had the blood
E A
There never was a horse like the Tennessee Stud
[Outro]
G A D C E A
10.) "Down There by the Train"
*Tune to D Standard tuning (1 step down)*
[Intro]
E
[Verse 1]
E E7 A E
There's a place I know where the train goes slow
A B7
Where the sinner can be washed in the blood of the lamb
E E7 A
There's a river by the trestle down by Sinner's Grove
E B7 A E
Down where the willow and the dogwood grow
[Verse 2]
A E A E
You can hear the whistle, you can hear the bell
E7 B7
From the halls of Heaven to the gates of Hell
A E A
And there's room for the forsaken if you're there on time
E E7 A
You'll be washed of all your sins and all of your crimes
[Chorus]
E
If you're down there by the train
B7
Down there by the train
E
Down there by the train
A
Down there by the train
E B7 E
Down there where the train goes slow
[Verse 2]
E E7 A E
There's a golden moon that shines up through the mist
E7 A B7
And I know that your name can be on that list
E E7 A
There's no eye for an eye, there's no tooth for a tooth
E B7 A
I saw Judas Iscariot carrying John Wilkes Booth
[Chorus]
E
He was down there by the train
B7
Down there by the train
E
Down there by the train
A
Down there by the train
E B7 E
He was down there where the train goes slow
[Verse 3]
E E7 A E
If you've lost all your hope, if you've lost all your faith
E7 A B7
I know you can be cared for and I know you can be safe
E E7 A
And all the shamefuls and all of the whores
E B7 A
And even the soldier who pierced the side of the Lord...
[Chorus]
E
Is down there by the train
B7
Down there by the train
E
Down there by the train
A
Down there by the train
E B7 E
Down there where the train goes slow
[Verse 4]
E E7 A E
Well, I've never asked forgiveness and I've never said a prayer
E7 A B7
Never given of myself, never truly cared
E E7 A
I've left the ones who loved me and I'm still raising Cain
E B7 A
I've taken the low road and if you've done the same...
[Chorus]
E
Meet me down there by the train
B7
Down there by the train
E
Down there by the train
A
Down there by the train
E B7 E
Down there where the train goes slow
E
Meet me down there by the train
B7
Down there by the train
E
Down there by the train
A
Down there by the train
E B7 E
Down there where the train goes slow
11.) "Redemption"
[Intro]
Am
[Verse 1]
Am
From the hands it came down
Dm
From the side it came down
E
From the feet it came down
Am
And ran to the ground
Am
Between Heaven and Hell
Dm
A teardrop fell
E
In the deep crimson dew
Am
The tree of life grew
[Chorus]
C
And the blood gave life
G7
To the branches of the tree
F
And the blood was the price
G7
That set the captives free
C
And the numbers that came
G7
Through the fire and the flood
F
Clung to the tree
Am
And were redeemed by the blood
[Verse 2]
Am
From the tree streamed a light
Dm
That started the fight
E
'Round the tree grew a vine
Am
On whose fruit I could dine
Am
My old friend Lucifer came
Dm
Fought to keep me in chains
E
But I saw through the tricks
Am
Of six-sixty-six
[Chorus]
C
And the blood gave life
G7
To the branches of the tree
F
And the blood was the price
G7
That set the captives free
C
And the numbers that came
G7
Through the fire and the flood
F
Clung to the tree
Am
And were redeemed by the blood
[Verse 3]
Am
From His hands it came down
Dm
From His side it came down
E
From the feet it came down
Am
And ran to the ground
Am
And a small inner voice
Dm
Said "You do have a choice."
E
The vine engrafted me
Am
And I clung to the tree
[Chorus]
C
And the blood gave life
G7
To the branches of the tree
F
And the blood was the price
G7
That set the captives free
C
And with the numbers that came
G7
Through the fire and the flood
F
I clung to the tree
Am
And was redeemed by the blood
[Outro]
Am
From His hands it came down
Dm
From His side it came down
E
From the feet it came down
Am
And ran to the ground
12.) "Like a Soldier"
*Capo on 1st fret*
[Intro]
G
[Verse 1]
G
With the twilight colors falling
G
And the evening laying shadows
G D
Hidden memories come stealing from my mind
D
And I feel my own heart beating out
D
The simple joy of living
D G
And I wonder how I ever was that kind
G
But the wild road I was rambling
G
Was always out there calling
G D7
And you said a hundred times I should have died
D7
Then you reached down and touched me
D7
And lifted me up with you
D7 G G7
So I believe it was the road I was meant to ride
[Chorus]
C D7 G
I'm like a soldier getting over the war
C D7 G
I'm like a young man getting over his crazy days
C D7 G Em
Like a bandit getting over his lawless ways
C D7 G
I don't have to do that any more
C D7 G
I'm like a soldier getting over the war
[Verse 2]
G
There are nights I don't remember
G
And pain that's been forgotten
G D
And a lot of things I choose not to recall
D
There are faces that come to me
D
In my darkest secret memories
D G
Faces that I wish would not come back at all
G
But in my dreams parade of lovers
G
From the other times and places
G D
There's not one that matters now, no matter who
D
I'm just thankful for the journey
D
And that I survived the battles
D G
And that my spoils of victory is you
[Chorus]
C D7 G
I'm like a soldier getting over the war
C D7 G
I'm like a young man getting over his crazy days
C D7 G Em
Like a bandit getting over his lawless ways
C D7 G
I don't have to do that any more
C D7 G
I'm like a soldier getting over the war
13.) "The Man Who Couldn't Cry"
[Intro]
D
[Verse 1]
C
There once was a man, and he couldn't cry
G D
Hadn't cried for years and for years
C
Napalmed babies, movie love stories
G D
For instance could not produce tears
A G D
As a child, he had cried as all children will
C D
Then at some point, his tear ducts all ran dry
C
Grew to be a man, it all hit the fan
G D
Things got bad, but he couldn't cry
[Verse 2]
C
His dog got ran over, his wife up and left him
G D
After that he got sacked from his job
C
Lost his arm in a war, was laughed at by a whore
G D
Ah, but still not a sniffle or sob
A G D
Well, his novel was refused and his movie was panned
C D
His big Broadway show was a flop
C
He got sent off to jail; you guessed it, no bail
G D
Ah, but still not a dribble or drop
[Verse 3]
C
In jail he was beaten, bullied and buggered
G D
And made to make license plates
C
Water and bread was all he was fed
G D
Not once did a tear stain his face
A G D
Doctors were called in, scientists too
C D
Theologians were last and practically least
C
They all agreed sure enough, this is no cream puff
G D
Ah, but in fact an insensitive beast
[Verse 4]
C
He was taken from jail and placed in a place
G D
For the insensitive and the insane
C
He made a lot of friends and he played a lot of chess
G D
And he cried every time it would rain
A G D
Once it rained forty days and it rained forty nights
C D
And he cried and he cried and he cried and he cried
C
On the forty-first day, he passed away
G D
He just dehydrated and died
[Verse 5]
C
He went up to heaven, located his dog
G D
After that, he rejoined his arm
C
Below, all the critics, they took it all back
G D
Cancer robbed the whore of her charm
A G D
His ex-wife died of stretch marks, his ex-employer went broke
C D
The theologians were finally found out
C
Right down to the ground, the jail house burnt down
G D
And the earth suffered perpetual drought
[Outro]
D
Da da da da da daaa,
C
Da daaa, da da daaa,
G D
Mm dada daaa, da da dada da daaa
---------