Am Em
It was just a little while past the sunset strip
C G D
They found the girl’s body in an open pit
Am Em
Her mouth was sewn shut, but her eyes were still wide
C G D
Gazing through the fog to the other side
Am Em
They booked me on a whim and threw me deep in jail
C G D
With no bail, sitting silent on a rusty pail
Am Em
Just gazing at the marks on the opposite wall
C G D
Remembering the music of my lover’s call
Am Em
So you make no mistake I know just what it takes
C G D
To pull a man’s soul back from heaven’s gates
Am Em
I’ve been wandering in the dark about as long as sin
C G D
But they say it’s never too late to start again
Am Em
Oh when, oh when
C G D
Will the spirit come a calling for my soul to send?
Am Em
Oh when, oh when
C G D
Will the keys to the kingdom be mine again?
Am Em
It was dark as the grave, it was just about three
C G D
When the warden with his key came to set me free
Am Em
They gave me five dollars and a secondhand suit
C G D
A pistol and a hat and a worn out flute
Am Em
So I took a bus down to the Rio Grande
C G D
And I shot a man down on the edge of town
Am Em
Then I stole me a horse and I rode it around
C G D
Til the sheriff pulled me in and he sat me down
Am Em
He said you make no mistake I know just what it takes
C G D
To pull a man’s soul back from heaven’s gates
Am Em
I’ve been wandering in the dark about as long as sin
C G D
But they say it’s never too late to start again
Am Em
Oh when, oh when
C G D
Will the spirit come a calling for my soul to send?
Am Em
Oh when, oh when
C G D
Will the keys to the kingdom be mine again?
Am Em
Well the sheriff let me go with a knife and a song
C G D
So I took the first train up to Oregon
Am Em
And I killed the first man that I came upon
Because the devil works quick, you know it don’t take long
Am Em
Then I went to the river ford to take a swim
C G D
You know that black river water is as black as sin
Am Em
And I washed myself clean as a newborn babe
C G D
And then I picked up a rock for to sharpen my blade
Am Em
Oh when, oh when
C G D
Will the spirit come a calling for my soul to send?
Am Em
Oh when, oh when
C G D
Will the keys to the kingdom be mine again?
Am Em
Oh when, oh when
C G D
Will the spirit come a calling for my soul to send?
Am Em
Oh when, oh when
C G D
Will the keys to the kingdom be mine again?