Either there's a
Capo on the 1st fret, or the guitar is tuned a little high
D
My parents raised me tenderly
C D
I was their only son.
D
My mind got mixed with ramblin'
C D
When I was all so young.
D
An' I left my home the first time
C D
When I was twelve an' one.
D
I'm a long time a-comin', Ma
C D
I'll be a long time gone.
D
On the western side of Texas
C D
On the Texas plains
D
I tried to find a job of work
C D
But they said I's young of age.
D
My eyes they burned when I heard
C D
"Go home where you belong!"
D
I'm a long time a-comin'
C D
I'll be a long time gone.
D
I remember when I's ramblin'
C D
Around with the carnival trains.
D
Different towns, different people
C D
Somehow they're all the same
D
I remember children's faces best
C D
I remember travelin' on.
D
I'm a long time a-comin'
C D
I'll be a long time gone.
D
I once loved a fair young maid
C D
An' I ain't too big to tell
D
If she broke my heart a single time
C D
She broke it ten or twelve.
D
I walked an' talked all by myself
C D
I did not tell no one.
D
I'm a long time a-comin', babe
C D
I'll be a long time gone.
D
Many times by the highway side
C D
I tried to flag a ride
D
With bloodshot eyes an' grittin' teeth
C D
I'd watch the cars roll by.
D
The empty air hung in my head
C D
I's thinkin' all day long.
D
I'm a long time a-comin'
C D
An' I'll be a long time gone.
D
You might see me on your crossroads
C D
When I'm passin' thru
D
Remember me how you wished to
C D
As I'm a-driftin' from your view.
D
I ain't got the time to think about it
C D
I got too much to get done.
D
Well, I'm a long time a-comin'
C D
An' I'll be a long time gone.
D
If I can't help somebody
C D
With a word or song
D
If I can't show somebody
C D
They are travelin' wrong.
D
But I know I ain't no prophet
C D
An' I ain't no prophet's son.
D
I'm just a long time a-comin'
C D
An' I'll be a long time gone.
D
So you can have your beauty
C D
It's skin deep an' it only lies
D
An' you can have your youth
C D
It'll rot before your eyes.
D
Just give to me my gravestone
C D
With it clearly carved upon.
D
"I's a long time a-comin'
C D
An' I'll be a long time gone."