Intro: Bm
G A D
I remember the smell of the creosote plant
E F#m Gdim E7 A Bm Cdim A
when we'd have to eat on Easter with my crazy old uncle and aunt
G A D
They lived in a big house Antebellum style
G D G D
and the wind would blow across the old bayou
A D
and I was a tranquil little child
D Bm
Life was just a tire swing
G D
'Jambalaya' was the only song I could sing
G D
Black-berry pickin', eatin' fried chicken
G D A
and I never knew a thing about pain
Bm
Life was just a tire swing
In a few summers my folks packed me off to camp
yeah, me and my cousin' Baxter in our pup tent with a lamp
And in a few days Baxter went home, and he left me by myself
And I knew that I'd stay, it was better that way
and I could get along without any help
(2nd chorus)
Life was just a tire swing
'Jambalaya' was the only song I could sing
Chasin' after sparrows with rubber-tipped arrows
knowin' I could never hurt a thing
and life was just a tire swing
Bm G F#m Em D
And I've never been west of New Orleans nor east of Pensacola
G F#m E7 A
My only contact with the outside world was an R.C.A. Victrola
Bm A
And Elvis would sing and then I'd dream about expensive cars
E7
and who would've figured twenty years later
A E7 F#m7
I'd be rubbin' shoulders with the stars
Bm
Life was just a tire swing
Then the other morning on some Illinois road
I fell asleep at the wheel
But was quickly wakened up by a 'Ma Bell' telephone pole
and a bunch of Grant Wood faces screaming 'Is he still alive?'
But through the window I could see it hangin' from a tree
and I knew that I had survived
Last Chorus:
Life was just a tire swing
'Jambalaya's still the best song that I sing
Black-berry pickin', eatin' fried chicken
And I finally learned a lot about pain
'Cause life is just a tire swing
Life was just a tire swing