Ronnie's Groovey Chopros

Ronnie's Groovey Chopros

I've only put on this page the very few songs that I've actually sat down and tabbed. Each one was written down because somebody requested it. I've included the (spoken) introduction that I normally do for most of these songs. The Dylan Set is rather lengthy, but includes a lot of research and commentary.

Most of the music that I do is in my fingers and in my brain, not on my hard drive.

This is for the gover-mint and for the lawyers and such:

PLEASE NOTE: THESE FILES ARE MY OWN WORK AND REPRESENT MY INTERPRETATIONS OF THE MUSIC. YOU MAY ONLY USE THESE FILES FOR PRIVATE STUDY, SCHOLARSHIP, OR RESEARCH.

IF YOU ONLY WANT TO GRAB LYRICS, CHOPROS, AND TABS OFF OF THE INTERNET FOR OTHER PURPOSES, THEN PLEASE GO SOMEWHERE ELSE.
(keep it in tune)

CCR

Title: Cotton Fields
Artist: CCR

This old Ledbetter song has been redone by more than just CCR: The Beach Boys screwed it up really bad, Harry Belafonte sang it, Ace Cannon played it on the sax, Floyd Cramer did it on the piano, Pete Fountain blew it out, Bill Monroe bluegrassed it, The Highwaymen, The New Chrisy Minstrals, and, yes, even Lawrence Welk did it Live at Lake Tahoe. Here's how me and the boys do it:

[E] When I was a little bitty baby
My [A] mama would rock me in the cradle
In them [E] ole cotton fields back [B7] home
It was [E] down in Louisi[E7]ana
Just about a [A] mile from Texarkana
In them [E] ole [B7] cotton fields back [E] home
When them [A] cotton bolls get rotten
You cant [E] pick very much cotton
In them ole cotton fields back [B7] home
It was [E] down in Louisi[E7]ana
Just about a [A] mile from Texarkana
In them [E] ole [B7] cotton fields back [E] home

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Bob Dylan

Positively State Highway 253

(I'm posting this Dylan Set that I do because of requests from some of my fans. They tell me that the spoken introductions are nifty and reflect a lot of research and thought (?). I don't know about that, but I know that I like doing the set.)

spoken:
Well, this aint no 4th street. This is POSITIVELY state highway 253. I guess this set could be called "Ronnie does Bobby" or maybe "Thornton does Dylan." I have to admit that I never was and am not now a really big Dylan fan. I suppose that there's only about seven or eight songs of his that I really like and most of his music I'm just kinda like somewhat neutral towards and to tell you the truth, there's probably a dozen or so of his songs that I just really don't like at all. But being a child who came of age in the 60's, I have to admit that he did influence me a lot musically and probably spiritually and philosophically and other ways as well.

I remember the first Dylan song I ever learned, at least learned well enough to play all the way through, was that "Blowin' in the Wind." The first one that I really liked to play and sing was "Don't Think Twice." It was a really cool thing, to be pubescent and to be able to play and sing some Dylan in front of my fellow teenage friends.

Anyway, I've been thinkin' lately about how the
artist-formerly-known-as-robert-zimmerman influenced me and influenced other musicians and I don't know why, but I've just started kinda putting some of that stuff together. That's what this Dylan Set is about.

Return to Dylan

Just Like A Woman

spoken:
I was in high school when Mr. Dylan sang this one and I loved to play along with the song. Decades later when Stevie Nicks did it on her Street Angel album, I loved it even better. She had Sharon Celani, Lori Nicks, and Sara Fleetwood doing harmony vocals and Mr. Dylan pitched in with his harmonica and guitar. Some others who have covered it are The Byrds, Joe Cocker, Judy Collins, Roberta Flack, Richie Havens, Nina Simone, and Rod Stewart, but "I believe that" I like Ms. Nicks' version the best, even better'n Mr. Dylan's.
The song is usually done out of the keys of C or F; I used to do D. Now I do it in G, like Ms. Nicks. In the forth line of the verses, I hold ( with n.c.) the C to the D, but for all you Dylan purists, the run would be C-Bm-Am-G-C-D. I cut some other chords out here and there, too, but you can figure them out. Dylan purists will also notice where Ms. Nicks changed some lyrics.

[G] Nobody [C] feels [D] any [G] pain
[G] Tonight as I [C] stand [D] outside the [G] rain
[C] Everybody [D] knows that [C] baby's got new [D] clothes
But [C] lately he see her ribbons and her [D] bows
Have [Em] fallen from her [D] curls

{c: CHORUS}
She [G] takes [Bm] just [Am] like a [C] woman (yes she does)
She [G] makes love [Bm] just [Am] like a [C] woman (yes she does)
And she [G] aches [Bm] just [Am] like a [C] woman
But she [D] breaks just like a little [G] girl

{c: VERSE 2}
[G] Queen Mary [C] she's [D] my [G] friend
[G] Yes I believe that I'll go [C] see [D] her a[G]gain
[C] Nobody has to [D] guess that [C] baby can't be [D] blessed
Till she [C] finally finds out that she's like all the [D] rest
With her [Em] fog, her amphetamine and her [D] pills (note:Mr. Dylan sings "pearls")
{c: CHORUS}

{c: BRIDGE}
It was [B7] rainin' from the first and I was dying there of thirst
So I [G] came in here
And your [B7] longtime curse hurts but what is worse
Is this [C] pain in here, I can't [Am] stay in here (aint it clear?)

{c: VERSE 3}
[G] That I [C] just [D] don't[G] fit
[G] Yes I believe it's [C] time for [D] me to [G] quit
[C] When we meet a[D]gain [C] introduced as [D] friends
Well [C] Please don't let on that you knew me [D] when
I was [Em] hungry and it was your [D] world

{c: CHORUS 2}
I [G] FAKE [Bm] just [Am] like a [C] woman (yes I do)
I [G] make love [Bm] just [Am] like a [C] woman (yes I do)
And then I [G] ache [Bm] just [Am] like a [C] woman
But I [D] break, yes I break, just like a little [G] girl

Return to Dylan

I Want You

spoken:
If you want to hear a really good version of this next song, then listen to Sophie B. Hawkins do it. If you like innuendo and double entendre, then you gotta like the title of her CD: Tongues and Tails. It's a really good album and she does an interesting interpretation of this song on there. But this ain't about Sophie B. Hawkins, it's about Dylan, and this is probably one of my favorite of his songs.

[G] The guilty undertaker sighs
The [Bm] lonesome organ grinder cries
The [Em] silver saxophones say I
Should re[D]fuse you

The [C] cracked bells and washed-out horns
[D] Blow into my face with scorn
But it's [Em] not that way, I wasn't born
To [D] lose you

{c: Chorus}
I [G] want you, I [Bm] want you
I [Em] want you, so [D] bad
Honey, I [G] want you

{c: VERSE 2}
[G] The drunken politician leaps
Up[Bm]on the street where mothers weep
And the [Em] saviors who are fast asleep
They [D] wait for you

And I [C] wait for them to interrupt
Me [D] drinkin' from that broken cup
And [Em] ask me to open up
The [D] gate for you

{c: CHORUS}

{c: BRIDGE}
Now [Bm] all my fathers, they've been down
True [Em] love they've been without it
But [Bm] all their daughters put me down
'Cause [C] I don't think a[D]bout it

{c: VERSE 3}
Well [G] I return to the Queen of Spades
And [Bm] talk with my chambermaid
She [Em] knows that I'm not afraid
To [D] look at her

[C] She is good to me
And there's [D] nothing that she doesn't see
[Em] She knows where I'd like to be
But it doesn't [D] matter

{c: CHORUS}
{c: Verse 4 (you probably know the words)}

Return to Dylan

Positively Dylan's Bridges

In those two songs ( Just Like A Woman and I Want You ) pay attention to the bridges. One thing that I've noticed, through the years, is that Mr. Dylan is a master of the bridge.

A bridge does two things in a good song: shake the music around and make you think about the lyrics.

When a lot of artists write the music to a song, they change keys and stuff when they get to the bridge, and that's haw-right. But most of Dylan's bridges stay in tune with the harmony.

From a poetic (lyrical) point-of-view, anyone who wants to study Dylan music should listen to what those words say in his bridges. His bridges change the gears in the listener's mind.

If you want to write music, then think about what you're gonna do with your bridge.

Return to Dylan

It Aint Me

spoken:
I don't know, but I always wondered if Mr. Dylan wrote this song as a reply to I Want You: I want you, but it ain't me, babe. A lot of people have covered this one: Johnny Cash did this song. I liked his version of it. Joan Baez did it. Bryan Ferry. Peter, Paul and Mary did this song, I believe, too. One of the worse versions of this song that I believe I ever heard was when Sebastion Cabot did it. If my memory serves, that was along about the same time that Leonard Nimoy did that "My Cup Runneth Over." But anyway, I liked The Turtles' version. I really didn't like this song until I heard The Turtles sing it The Turtle's version really brought out the minor chords in this song. I'm partial towards those minor chords: they're kinda haunting. I always thought that this was kind of a haunting song.

(Chords defined (the way I do them)- Am: 002210 and 007555, Bm: XX4430 and X9977.)

Intro: G/Am/Bm/Am/G

Go a [G]way from my [Am] window [Bm] leave at your [Am] own chosen [G] speed
I'm [G] not the one you [Am] want, babe, I'm [Bm] not the [Am] one you [G] need
You [Bm] say you're lookin' [Am] for someone who's never [Bm] weak but always [Am] strong
To pro[Bm]tect you and de[Am]fend you [Bm] whether you're right or [Am] wrong
Some[C]one to open each and every [D] door

It ain't [G] me babe [C] no, no, [D] no it ain't [G] me babe
It ain't [C] me you're [D] lookin' [G] for babe

Link: Bm/Am/Bm/Am/G

Go lightly from the ledge, babe, go lightly to the ground
I'm not the one you want babe, I'll only brang you down
You say you're lookin' for someone who'll promise to never part
Someone to close his eyes to you, someone to close his heart
Someone who will die for you and more

(chorus)

coda on the no, no, no etc.

fade out on the link

Return to Dylan

Title: Lay Lady Lay

Artist: Bob Dylan

Well, if you've never heard Melanie's version of this song, then you've not ever heard it sung that way that it ought to be sung. The Byrds did a version of it, of course, and Duran Duran did it on Thank You. I have worked most all of my guitar-life tryin' to get this song to sound the way I want it to, and still I don't do it right. I cut out a lot of the minor chords that Dylan put in there toward the end of some of the lines. This is how I play it.

[G] Lay lady [Bm] lay [F] lay across my [G] big brass bed
[G] Lay lady [Bm] lay [F] lay across my [G] big brass bed
[D] Whatever [Em] colors you have [G] in your mind
[D] I'll show them [Em] to you [G] and you'll see them shine
[G] Lay lady [Bm] lay [F] lay across my [G] big brass bed

Stay lady stay, stay with your man awhile
Until the break of day, let me see you make me smile
My clothes are dirty but my hands are clean
And you're the best thing that I've ever seen
Stay lady stay, stay with your man awhile

(another one of Dylan's fine bridges)
[Bm] Why wait any longer for the [G] world to begin
[Bm] You can have your cake and eat it [G] too
[Bm] Why wait any longer for the [G] one you love
When I'm [Bm] standing in front of [Am] you

Lay lady lay, lay across my big brass bed
Stay lady stay, stay while the night is still ahead
I long to see you in the morning light
I long to reach for you in the night
Stay lady stay, stay while the night is still ahead

Return to Dylan

Title: Positively 4th Street

Artist: Bob Dylan

(I always liked to hear Johnny Rivers sing this one.)

(spoken introduction)
Well, this here's gonna be POSITIVELY STATE HIGHWAY 253. It's my psychobilly psychobabble parody of Positively 4th Street. I'm meaning to parodize psychobabble, not Mr. Dylan's fine work. This is the way we do it in SouthYampertown:

[G] You exhibit much [Am] boldness to [C] verbalize close affiliation with [G] me
When I was depressed you were immobile, smiling broadly showing your [D] teeth
[G]You display much [Am] assertiveness to [C] label yourself pro[G]social
You are highly motivated to be a member of the dominant group that exercises [D] social power

I understand the data that suggests why you covertly converse with others about me
I once was a member of the peer group to which you now belong
Do you assess me to be so intellectually challenged that you would predict that I would initiate relations
With the person who affectates knowledge of what he or she is unaware of initially?

I wish that for just one time you could loose your egocentricity
And during that time-sample I could role-play you
Yes, I wish for just one time you could relate to reality from my point-of-view
Then you'd know how dysphoric it is to observe you

(Finish by doing Positively 4th Street the right way, then have Brother Richard do the
harmonica intro to Ride Me High, for an out-tro to the set.)

Return to Dylan

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John Fogerty

Rambunctious Boy

Title: Rambunctious Boy
Artist: John Fogerty
Album: Blue Moon Swamp

intro (a cappella):
[C]My oh my I'm a [G]restless guy
Gotta home everywhere I [D] go-o [G]o- o[D]o

(kick in the music and speed it up!) [Ronnie's got a mandolin in here, somewhere!]

Well I [G]aint good lookin' and I aint so smart
But [D]baby I'm a sensitive [G]guy
I aint done everything there is to do
But I'll [D] damn sure give it a [G]try

I'm a [C]lookin'
I'm a lookin'
For a [G]big time bookin' with you
So come on baby
Let's go [D]howlin' at the honky-tonk [G]moon

chorus: [G] I'm a rambunctious boy
Rambunctious boy
[C]Oh my I'm a [G]restless guy
Gotta home everywhere I [D] go
I'm [G] trouble on the run
A [C]heart-breakin' son of a gun
[G] oh yeah I'm a [D]rambunctious [G]boy

instrumental

I been workin' all week in the big boss yard
I 'bout had it up to here
I aint got time for a Caribbean Cruise
Just give me a song and a beer

I feel like rompin'
Stompin'
And bronkin' it up real loud
So come on baby
Tell your girlfriend three's a crowd

chorus, instrumental, then chorus stepped up to the key of A

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Barbara George

Title: I Know (You Don't Love Me No More)
Artist: Barbara George
Chorded by: sixstring@centuryinter.net. Others who have done fine versions of this song, that I know of are Bonnie Raitt, Ike and Tina Turner, and The Edwin Hawkins Singers. It's really fun to play and sing. I do it out of the key of A, and pair it up with Billy Swan's Lover Please, Please Come Back for a nifty medley.

I [A] know you don't love me no more
No [E7] more, no no more
And I don't want to be hurted
any [A] more, any more

[A] Well I [A7] loved so hard
Ever[D]thing I did [B7] Was no joy
If I can't [A] love you right, baby, I don't [E7] have to love you at [A] all [E7]

I [A] know you don't love me no more
No [E7] more, no no more
And it had to be someone else lovin'
You [A] more, lovin' you more

Aint no use in me [A7] crying now now
All be[D]cause you have [B7] put me down
If you don't [A] want me no more baby, aint no [E7] use in me hanging a[A]round

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Emmylou Harris

Deeper Well

Title: Deeper Well
Artist: Emmylou Harris
Album: Wrecking Ball, Emmylou Harris

[Am] The sun burned hot, it burned my eyes
Burned so hot I [G] thought I'd [Am] died
Thought I'd died and gone to Hell
Lookin' for the water from a [G] deeper [Am] well

I went to the river but the river was dry
I fell to my knees and I looked to the sky
I looked to the sky and the spring rains fell
I saw the water from a deeper well

chorus: [Am] Well.... lookin' for the water from a [G] deeper [Am] well (X2)

I was ready for love I was ready for the money
Ready for the blood and ready for the honey
Ready for the winnin' ready for the bell
Lookin' for the water from a deeper well

I found some love and I found some money
Found that blood would drip from the honey
Found I had a thirst that I could not quell
Lookin' for the water from a deeper well

chorus

So I ran with the Moon and I ran with the Night
And the three of us were a terrible sight
From the nipple to the bottle to the gun to the cell
To the bottom of a hole in a deeper well

I rocked with the cradle and I rolled with the rage
I shook those walls and I rattled my cage
I took my troubles down a deadend trail
Lookin' for the water from a deeper well

chorus

Hey there Mama did you carry that load?
Did you tell your baby 'bout the bend in the road?
'Bout the Rebel Yell? 'Bout the one who fell?
Lookin' for the water from a deeper well (fade out on the chorus)

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Marshall Tucker Band

Title: SEARCHIN' FOR A RAINBOW
Artist: Marshall Tucker Band

intro:
C-Em-D
C-Em-D
then play these chords with Mr. Charlie Daniels' sweet fiddle introduction:
G-Em-C-G
Em-Em-C-G

[G] I rode in to [Em] town today
[C] And in my mind I said [G] Lord, I'd love to stay
Somethin' in me said [Em] Boy, move on
[C] Don't know what it is. The good Lord [G] bred it in my bones

chorus:
And I'm [C] searchin' for a [G] rainbow
[C] And if the wind ever [G] shows me where to go
[C] You'll be waitin' at the [G] end and I'll [Em] know
I'll see the [D] hill with that pot o' [G] gold
I'll see the [D] hill with that pot o' [G] gold

This ole mount I'm ridin', she's gettin' kinda tired
But in my heart she knows there's this one desire
She's gonna take me to the end of our road
Then she'll lay down and die and I'll say God rest her soul

(chorus)

(instrumental) [verse chords done twice]: The first time through the fiddle takes the lead. The
second time's the guitar.

(chorus done twice)
_____________________
Whenever my brother and I have the chance to get together down at
The Old Home Place and sing this song on the Front Porch, we substitute "I'll see you there" or
"I'll meet you there" for "I'll see the hill." This is one of his favorite songs.

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Melanie

Title: Look What They've Done To My Song
Artist: Melanie

[G] Look what they've [D] done to my [G] song, [Em] Ma
[C] Look what they've done to my [G] song
Well it's the only thing
That I could [D] do half right
And it's [C] turning out all wrong, Ma
[G] Look what they've [D] done to my [G] song

[G] Look what they've [D] done to my [G] brain, [Em] Ma
[C] look what they've done to my [G] brain
Well they picked it like
A [D] chicken bone
I [C] think I'm half-insane, Ma
[G] Look what they've [D] done to my [G] brain

Wish I could find a good book to live in
Wish I could find a good book
Well if I could find
A real good book
I'd never have to come outside and look at
What they've done to my song

Maybe it'll all be alright, Ma
Maybe it'll all be OK
Well if the people
Are buying tears
I'll be rich someday, Ma
Look what they've done to my song

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Tom Petty

Title: Walls
Artist: Tom Petty

This song is actually in the key of A. Capo up two frets.
Without the capo, the verse chords are: A-F#m-D-E and the
chorus chords are: D-A-D-A-Bm-F#m-E-A.

[G] Some days are diamonds
[Em] Some days are rocks
[C] Some doors are open
[D] Some roads are blocked

[G] Sundowns are golden
[Em] Then fade away
[C] And if I never do nothing
[D] I'll get you back someday

Chorus:
Cause you got a [C] heart so [G] big
It could [C] crush this [G] town
And I can't [Am] hold out for[Em]ever
Even [D] walls fall [G] down

[G] All around your island
[Em] There's a barricade
[C] It keeps out the danger
[D] And holds in the pain

[G] Sometimes you're happy
[Em] Sometimes you cry
[C] Half of me is ocean
[D] Half of me is sky

(repeat the chorus, then play through the verse chords)

[G] Some things are over
[Em] Some things go on
[C] Part of me you carry
[D] Part of me is gone

(repeat the chorus twice, then slow fadeout on G-Em)

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Bonnie Raitt

Title: Love Me Like A Man
Artist: Bonnie Raitt
Written By: Chris Smither
Album: Give It Up

[E] These men that I been seeing, baby Got their souls upon the shelf
You know they can't ever love me When they can't can't even love themselves
But I [A] need someone to love me Someone to really under[E]stand
Who won't [B7] put himself above me [A] But who just loves me like a [E] man [B7]

[E] I never seen such losers, darling Even though I tried to find
A man who would take me home Instead of taking me for a ride
I [A] need someone to love me I know you [E] can
Be[B7]lieve when I tell you [A] You can love me like a [E] man [B7]

break:
A///A///E///E///
A///A///E///E///
B7///A///E///B7///

chorus:
[E] I want me to rock him Like my back aint got no bone
I want a man to rock me Like my back-bone was his [A] own
Darling, I know you [E] can
Be[B7]lieve me when I tell you
[A] You can love me like a [E] man [B7]

I come home sad and lonely Feel like I want to die
I want a man to hold me Not some fool to ask me why
I need someone to love me Darling, I know you can
Don't you put yourself above me Just love me like a man

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Bob Seger

Title: The Fire Down Below
Artist: Bob Seger
Album: Night Moves

V1:
[E]Here comes ole Rosie She's lookin mighty fine
Here comes hot Nancy She's steppin right on time
Here go the street lights A-bringin on the night
Here come the man His face is hidden from the night
[A]All thru the shadows [G]Ah, they come and they [E]go
With only [B7]one thing in common [A]They got the fire down be[E]low

V2:
Here come the rich man In his big long limosene
Here come the poor man Lord, he got to have his dream
Here come the banker and the lawyer and the cop
One thing's for certain It aint never gonna stop
When it all gets too heavy That's when they come and they go (they go)
With only one thing in common They got the fire down below

chorus:
Yeah, it [A]happens out in Vegas It [E]happens in Molene
On the [A]blueblood streets of Boston Up in [E]Berkley, out in Queens
It [A]went on yesterday And it's [E] goin on tonight
Some[F#?]where there's somebody Aint [B7]treatin somebody right

V3:
They're lookin out for Rosie She's lookin mighty fine
And they're walkin the streets for Nancy And they find her every time
And when the streetlights flicker Bringin on the night
They'll be slippin in the darkness Slippin out-a sight
All thru the midnight Watch 'em come and watch 'em go (oh, go)
With only one thing in common They got the fire down below
(Oh, burnin down below)

(break)

repeat chorus
repeat V3 (except: instead of all thru the midnight, it's all thru the shadows) (Oh, they go)

Title: Sunspot Lady
Artist: Bob Seger
Album: Night Moves

Transcription notes: (1) I've changed the chord progressions in a couple of places so that this
song can be done in a medley with the likes of The Amazing Rhythm Aces' "She Left the
Water Dripping" and a couple of other such songs. (2) I've changed the placenames in the
bridge to reflect an Alabama Bubba's point of view.

V1:
She [E]packed up her bags and she [A]took off down the [E]road
She left me here stranded [A]with the bills she [E]owed
She [A]gave me a false ad[E]dress Took [A]off with my American Ex[E]press
[B7]Sunspot baby She [A]sure had me way out[E]guessed

V2:
She left me here stranded like a [A]dog out in the [E]yard
She charged up a fortune [A]on my credit [E]card
She [A]used my address and my [E]name and[A]man, that was sure un[E]kind
[B7]Sunspot baby She [A]sure had a real good [E]time

bridge:
Well I [A]looked in Gulf Shores, Dauphin [E]Island and Mobile
The [A]closest I came was a [E]month-old bill
I called [A]Panama City, they [E]said she was gone
I [F#](?) cant understand why she [B7]did me so wrong

V3:
She packed up her bags and she took off down the road
She said she was goin' to visit her sister, Flo
She used my address and my name and man, that was sure unkind
Sunspot baby I'm gonna catch her sometime

break: E/A/E

E/A/E
A/E
A/E
B7/A/E
repeat bridge

V4:
She packed up her bags and she took off down the road
She left me here stranded with the bills she owed
She used my address and my name she put my credit to shame
Sunspot baby She sure had a real good time

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Billy Swan

Title: Lover Please, Please Come Back
Artist: Billy Swan

This was a #7 hit in 1962 for Clyde McPhatter. It's been done by Kinky Freidman and the Texas
Jewboys, Orion Sun, Dennis Turner, Arthur Alexander, The Vernon Sisters, Kris
Kristopherson and Rita Coolidge, and many others.With just two chords, it's really fun to
play and sing. I like to pair it up with I Know You Don't Love Me No More (Barbara George,
Bonnie Raitt, etc.) for a nifty medley.

Billy Swan is, in my opinion, an under-rated and often over-looked writer, producer, and
musician. Check him out at: http://rosecity.net/billyswan/.

chorus:
[A] Lover please, please come back
Don't take that train going [E7] down the track
Please don't, don't leave me
Don't leave me here in [A] misery

V1:
You would never hold me so near
You would never call me dear
Honey, you know that I would die for you
Now that you're gone, that's what I do

(chorus)

V2:
Well, it's an old, old story, it's not too long
About a love that went all wrong
The girl left the boy, oh so bad
Now she's gone and he's so sad

(chorus done as many times as you want to on the Fade Out)

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Thornton Music