Ab7 - A7 - Ab7 - A7
Ab7 A7
The kid heard the word up in Brooklyn
It was his second year of medical school
He went and stashed some jeans into his guitar case
His father "You're a fool!"
D7
But the boy jumped on a Greyhound bus
It took him two days to get to Mobile
E7
And though it took two weeks to track the old man down
D7
He never doubted that the rumor was real
A7
But there the old man stood by the store front
With his white cane hanging from his belt
And he was bendin' the steel of his guitar strings
So it seemed like the metal had to melt
D7
He was the last of the street corner singers
Paying his final years of dues
E7
The voice in his throat was like a bullfrog croak
D7
Yes it's he who invented the blues
A7
To play the blues boy, you got to live 'em
D7
Got your dues boy, you know you gotta give 'em
E7
Got to start sweet like a slow blues rythm
A7
Like a heartbeat you'll always be with 'em
D7 C7 - C#7 - D7
When you're married to the blues boy
D7
Your guitar is you wife
C#7 C7 D7
It's like that fine ole' woman
C7 G7 A7
Who you're faithful to for life
A7
Well the kid walked up as the blind man finished
And was bent to put his guitar way
The old man heard him and said "Who are you?"
"I'm the kid you're gonna teach to play Dad."
D7
The old man laughed but the kid kept talkin'
'Bout how he'd help him get around
E7
That's when the old man said
D7
"I don't need to fool to get me where in the Hell I'm bound."
A - [No Chord - A - C# - E - F#] (2x's)
A - [No Chord - A - C# - E - F#]
The kid nods his head with a great big grin
A - [No Chord - A - C# - E - F#]
And says "When do we begin?"
A - [No Chord - A - C# - E - F#]
That's when the old man said,
E7
"If you're staying with me, this is how it's got to be."
A7
To play the blues boy, you got to live 'em
D7
Got your dues boy, you know you gotta give 'em
E7
Got to start sweet like a slow blues rythm
A7
Like a heartbeat you'll always be with 'em
D7 C7 - C#7 - D7
When you're married to the blues boy
D7
Your guitar is you wife
C#7 C7 D7
It's like that fine ole' woman
C7 G7 A7
Who you're faithful to for life
D7 A7
"You know I ain't no guru,
D7 A7 D7 - A7
I'm just a blind black preacher man.
My guitar is my gospel boy,
D7 A7
and I preach with my pickin' hand
D7
"I ain't gonna be your wet nurse
A black father to an albino son."
E7
"That's okay" the kid up and say
F#7
"I just want to pick like a son of a gun."
B - [No Chord - B - Eb - F# - Ab]
B - [No Chord - B - Eb - F# - Ab]
"Whoa boy. That ain't no damn typewriter you're playing now
B - [No Chord - B - Eb - F# - Ab]
You got to caress it like a woman, slow and easy."
F#7
"Like this old man..."
B7 Bb7
"Naw, a fool plays the blues like Machine Gun Kelly
B7
Five hundred notes to the bar
And if you're gonna stick with me
F#7
You got to learn what the blues really are."
B7
"You learn to pick with me, And you can stick with me
But it's time to blow this town.
We gots a gig to preach a gamin' house
We're Alabama bound."
E7
So the kid took the hand of the old blues man
To lead him all around the South
F#7
Now it's the old man's turn to make the white boy learn
E7
"You don't play guitar with your mouth."
B7
To play the blues boy, you got to live 'em
E7
Got your dues boy, you know you gotta give 'em
F#7
Got to start sweet like a slow blues rythm
B7
Like a heartbeat you'll always be with 'em
E7 D7 - Eb7 - E7
When you're married to the blues boy
E7
Your guitar is you wife
Eb7 D7 E7
It's like that fine ole' woman
D7 A7 B7
Who you're faithful to for life
[fade]
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