Cowpoke by Ear Self-Paced

Ukulele by Ear: Cowpoke Songs

Introductory Notes Welcome! As you work your way through this self-paced course, you may refer to the Syllabus provided below for recommendations about pacing yourself and organizing your practice of the included material. Feel free to adapt and adjust as feels appropriate for you, your goals for your practice, and your day-to-day assessment of your own progress. I expect a wide variety of students to be interested in this course. Perhaps you are relatively new to playing and excited to dive right in. Perhaps you are excited to expand your repertoire with this genre or music. Perhaps you are an experienced player looking for more organized practice playing by ear. Whatever your background and interest, the material provided in this course aims to help you improve both your playing and your musicianship. I recommend you take a moment before starting this course to decide what your initial goals are for your work with this material. The materials provided give you a lot of options for your practice. Pick the things that feel most aligned with your goals, and remember you can always return the material again later to go a level deeper. Think about what challenge(s) will fll that sweet spot between boringly easy and frustratingly diffcult. Finally, I’d like to know a few resources to help support your practice: • To familiarize yourself with our Cowpoke Songs (especially those you don’t know yet), listen to original recordings: • I’ve included hyperlinks to original recordings on YouTube on our song chart pages. Look for the underlined text under the song title. • I’ve also created Cowpoke Songs Playlist on Spotify, which you can listen to outside your practice while you wash the dishes or go for a walk. • Video tutorials and play alongs on the Cowpoke Songs Practice Page can also help familiarize you with new songs, especially with the arrangements in our course. Look for additional tips in the Syllabus below for using these videos in your practice. • (Tip! Bookmark the Playlist and Practice Page to your browser for quick access.)

Enjoy! 1 Syllabus Note: I have designed this six-week curriculum for students who are already somewhat familiar with the ukulele and with playing three-chord songs in the keys of C, D, G, and A. I also expect you’ll know several of these songs already, too. However, if there is a lot of new material and content for you here, I recommend giving yourself 8 weeks (or more) to make your way through.

Week 1 • Learn the songs of Part 1 (pp. 6-9). • Familiarize yourself with these songs frst by listening to original recordings (via hyperlinks or Spotify playlist). Learn the songs using the videos provided our Practice Page. • The songs in this frst part of the course use chord patterns that follow the graphics provided at the top of each song chart. These should help you count out the number of measures you need to each chord. As you practice this frst set of songs, notice if these graphics are helpful in committing these patterns to memory? • Review and play along with the videos on the Practice Page as much as you need this week. • Playing By Ear • The idea of playing “by ear” is a little misleading, I will admit. We actually use a lot of senses and abilities to play a song from memory. After spending some time with each song, ask yourself: What else is helping me make sense of these chord patterns? How might I organize them in my mind? Take notes for yourself and notice what you’re learning about yourself as a musician. (I’ll have some more ideas on this next week.) • Visualization. If the visual graphics I present are not helpful, consider how you would sketch out these patterns? Or, perhaps it’s easier simply to visualize the chord shapes on the fretboard for yourself? There are many ways to use our eyes and various visual cues we can use to support our listening.

Week 2 • Warm up each day: Pick one song from Part 1 to play through with the song chart, and then try playing it through without the chart. What do you remember, and what don’t you remember? What is helping you learn this song most? Use the information you gather from your warm up to help guide your practice. • Review the songs of Part 1 and make a Cheat Sheet for each. • Download and print the packet of Cheat Sheets on the Practice Page. • For each song, ask yourself: What information do I really need to play and sing this song? Recall from last week: What else is helping me make sense of these chord patterns? How might I organize them in my mind? • Whatever you feel you need, distill it down to the minimum and make those notes in the blank space at the top of each Cheat Sheet. Once you’ve made a Cheat Sheet for a song, practice and play this song *only* from the Cheat Sheet. Feel free to adjust or add to your notes if you need. 2 • The purpose of this assignment is two-fold: • As you learn about yourself as a musician, and what notes are most meaningful for you, you’ll be translating the full song chart into a short hand that is most effective for your learning. • Simply by going through this process and writing your notes down helps solidify the patterns in your mind, so that you may not even need the notes after you do. • Playing By Ear • As you consider what notes will serve you best on your Cheat Sheet, here are some song elements that you might not have thought of, but can be really helpful: • Lyrics. As you listen or sing along with the lyrics, notice how any words or phrases that correspond to the chord changes. Things to look for are: phrases that repeat with each chord change, or chord changes that come on the last lyric of the line, etc. What patterns do you notice? • Melody. As you listen or sing along with the melody, notice how its movement corresponds to the chord changes. Are the notes making a big jump? Are they going up or down the scale toward a chord change? What patterns do you notice? • Rhythm. Besides just counting the beats for each chord, what other rhythmic cues can you use? As you listen or sing along, take away the notes and the words and see if you can clap out the rhythm of what you’re singing. Notice how this rhythm corresponds to the chord changes. Is there a repeating rhythm that corresponds or leads to a chord change? Is there a rhythm that changes with the chord change? What patterns do you notice?

Week 3 • Warm up each day: Pick a song that you’ve made a Cheat Sheet for. Play through it with the Cheat Sheet, and then try playing it through without. What do you remember, and what don’t you remember? What is helping you learn this song most? Use the information you gather from your warm up to help guide your practice. • Review / Learn About Transposing. • Download the Transposing Worksheet on our Practice Page and use it to help you transpose one song from your Cheat Sheets to a new key. Play the song through to make sure you’ve got it right. The chords may sound a little different, but does it still basically sound like the original song? Can you sing along? • Transpose your chosen song into all the keys you know: C, D, G, and A. (Extra points for trying F if you like!) • Over the course of the week, try transposing all Part 1 songs into all the keys you know. • Note: I’ve never met anyone who understands the I-IV-V system and transposing all at once from the very beginning. I return to it in every class to give students the chance to continue deepening their grasp and understanding of it. As you work through this week’s assignments, focus on what you do grasp and what you can do, and keep track of your questions. When you reach a dead end, please email me to schedule some time to answer your questions.

3 • The purpose of this assignment is two-fold: • What makes a song is not the chords you play, but the relationship between the chords you play. Understanding these relationships can be helpful in recognizing common chord patterns across multiple songs in multiple keys. For example, there are countless songs that use the Boomerang pattern I - IV - I - V. The better you know and understand this system of relationships, the quicker you’ll be able to pick up on chord patterns in new songs you hear. • Understanding the relationships between the I, IV and V chords also helps deepen your ear. The more you listen, the better you’ll be able to hear the relationships between these chords without seeing the pattern on paper. • Playing By Ear • Around the World: As you feel more confdent transposing, try doing it on the spot! Playing a song from your Cheat Sheet (pick one that feels easy to play), try to switch keys each verse or chorus! This will sound ridiculous, and you will likely struggle to fnd the melody notes to sing, but do your best. The purpose is to put that new knowledge of chord families and I-IV-V structures to use!

Week 4 • Warm up each day: Play a song or two from Part 1 without your Cheat Sheet. • Let’s learn some new music! We spent a while with our frst songs in order to introduce you to a variety of techniques for learning to play songs without notes. Learn the songs in Part 2 (pp. 10-12). • As with the songs in Part 1, familiarize yourself frst by listening to original recordings (via hyperlinks or Spotify playlist). Learn the songs using the videos on the Practice Page. • Notice that the songs in this frst part of the course use chord patterns that are a bit more complex than in Part 1. Based on what you’ve learned about chord patterns, in general, what sense can you make of the patterns of these new songs? Review and play along with the videos on the Practice Page as much as you need this week. • Make Cheat Sheets for Part 2 Songs. As soon as you feel comfortable, use your observations of these new songs to make Cheat Sheets for each of them, the same way you did with the songs in Part 1. • Playing By Ear • As you work on your next set of Cheat Sheets, remember what helped you most in Part 1. Use these approaches, and maybe try a different one. Each song is different, and may need a different approach than others. Remember the wide array of things you can try: • Visual graphic: circle, boomerang, see saw, or whatever makes sense to you! • Visualization of chord shapes moving in patterns • Listening for lyrics, melody and rhythm for connections with chord patterns • Applying the I-IV-V system to a song’s chord pattern

4 Week 5 • Warm up each day: Play as many songs as you can without any notes, or from a Cheat Sheet. • Practice transposing with the songs of Part 2. • As with the songs in Part 1, use the Transposing Worksheet to help you transpose one song from your Part 2 Cheat Sheets to a new key. Play the song through to make sure you’ve got it right. The chords may sound a little different, but does it still basically sound like the original song? Can you sing along? • Transpose your chosen song into all the keys you know: C, D, G, and A. (Extra points for trying F if you like!) • Over the course of the week, try transposing all Part 2 songs into all the keys you know. • Note: Remember to keep focusing on what you do grasp and what you can do with transposing, and keep track of your questions. When you reach a dead end, please email me to schedule some time to answer your questions. • Start listening for relationships between I, IV and V chords. Using the video exercises on the Practice Page, open your ears to what it sounds like to move between the I and IV chords, the I and V chords, and the IV and V chords. What do you notice? This is an exploratory exercise to return to regularly in your practice. • Challenge: Mystery Melodies. Listen to the audio recordings posted on the Practice Page. Can you identify the song I’m playing? What are you listening for? What helps you identify the song? You can check yourself by downloading and opening the answer sheet.

Week 6 and Moving Forward … • Warm up each day: Play as many songs as you can without any notes, or from a Cheat Sheet. • Learn a new generation of Cowpoke Songs in Part 3 (pp. 13-20). • Unlike the traditional songs of Parts 1 and 2, Part 3 features more modern songs written about or in the cowpoke spirit. Pick the one(s) you like best to learn, no need to learn any that don’t strike your fancy. • Follow the same steps you did with the songs of Part 1 and 2 to try playing these songs without notes: Make a cheat sheet, convert the song to I-IV-V, transpose, etc. Use whatever exercises feel helpful. • Bonus: Memorizing Lyrics! Watch the video on creating lyric storyboards to help you with that other monstrous task of singing lyrics from memory. Apply this technique to any and all songs you’re working on. • As you move forward, keep all of these songs fresh (especially your favorites!) by warming up with them and/or incorporating them into your practice regularly. Try to practice them without play along videos as much as you can, and without your Cheat Sheets. • Remember you have access to these materials for a while. Don’t worry if something feels beyond you now - focus on what feels within your reach, and come back to the harder material later. • What opportunities might you have to playing these pieces for an “audience”? No matter how informal, preparing to play for someone is a great goal to work toward. Thank you for taking the course. Enjoy your practice! 5 Part 1

Home on the Range Based on the poem “My Western Home” by Brewster Higley (1872), melody by Daniel Kelley Collected and published by Alan Lomax (1916) Listen to Gene Autry’s rendition here Waltz time - Waltz thumb-strum

Intro: C G7 C C

C C F F Verse 1: Oh give me a home where the buffalo roam, C C G7 G7 where the deer and the antelope play C C F F where seldom is heard a dis-cour-aging word C G7 C C and the skies are not cloudy all day

C G7 C C Chorus: Home, home on the range C C G7 G7 where the deer and the antelope play C C F F where seldom is heard a dis-cour-aging word C G7 C C and the skies are not cloudy all day

Verse 2: How often at night when the heavens so bright, with the light from the glittering stars ___ Have I stood there a-mazed and asked as I gazed if their glory ex-ceeds that of ours ___

Chorus Repeat last two lines / End on C 6 Git Along Little Dogies Traditional - First recorded by Harry McClintock (1928) - Later performed by Roy Rogers (Coincidentally, both of these reference recordings are in the Key of C) Chords: Starting Notes: Circle Chord Pattern:

Waltz time - Each chord = 3 beats - Waltz thumb-strum or pick

G C D7 G Verse 1: As I was a-walking one morning for pleasure G C D7 G I spied a cow-puncher come riding a-long G C D7 G His hat was throwed back and his spurs were a-jinglin’ G C D7 G As he ap-proached me a-singin’ this song:

D7 D7 G G Chorus: Whoopee tie yi yo, git a-long little dogies D7 D7 G G It’s your mis-fortune and none of my own G C D7 G Whoopee tie yi yo, git a-long little dogies G C D7 G For you know Wy-oming will be your new home

V2: Early in the spring-time we’ll round up the dogies Slap on their brands and bob off their tails Round up our horses, load up the chuck wagon Then throw those dogies up on the trail … Chorus

V3: Some boys goes up the trail for pleasure But that’s where they git it most awfully wrong For you haven’t any idea the trouble they give us As we go driving those dogies a-long … Chorus, End on G 7 Old Chisholm Trail Traditional - Lyrics as documented by J. & A. Lomax - Recorded by Gene Autry (1952) Chords: See Saw Chord Pattern: Starting notes:

Standard time - Each chord = 4 beats - Standard strum or Thumb-strum

D D Verse 1: Oh come along boys and listen to my tale D D I’ll tell you of my troubles on the Ol’ Chisholm Trail A7 D Chorus: Comma tie yi yippee, yippee yay yippee yay A7 D Comma tie yi yippee yippee yay

V2: We left the ranch on June twenty-third With a drove of Texas cattle, two thousand in the herd … Chorus

V3: It’s bacon and beans, most every day I’d as soon be eatin’ prairie hay … Chorus

V4: It’s rainin’ like hell and it’s gettin’ mighty cold These long-horn sons-a-guns are gettin’ hard to hold … Chorus

V5: Saddle up, boys, and saddle up well For I think these cattle have scattered to hell … Chorus x2, End on D

8 Red River Valley Traditional - Lyrics as published by J. & A. Lomax - Recorded by Gene Autry Chords: Starting Notes:

Leading Chord Pattern: Boomerang Pattern:

Standard time - Each chord = 4 beats - Standard strum or thumb-strum

A A A A Verse 1: From this valley they say you are leaving A A E7 E7 We shall miss your bright eyes and sweet smile A A D D For you take with you all of the sunshine A E7 A A That has brightened our pathway a while

Chorus: Come and sit by my side if you love me ___ Do not hasten to bid me a-dieu ___ Just re-mem-ber the Red River Valley ___ And the cowboy who loved you so true ___

V2: I’ve been thinking a long time, my darlin’ ___ Of the sweet words you never would say ___ Now a-las, must my fond hopes all vanish? ___ For they say that you're going a-way ___ … Chorus

V3: Do you think of the valley you’re leaving? ___ Oh how lonely and how dreary it will be ___ Do you think of the kind hearts you’re breaking? ___ And the pain you are causing to me? ___ … Chorus, End on A

9 Part 2

The Cowboy’s Lament (The Streets of Laredo) Traditional, derived from an Irish ballad

Starting note: Waltz time - Each chord = 3 beats - Waltz strum or pick

Intro: G C D7 G G D7 G D7 V1: As I walked out in the streets of La-re-do G C G D7 as I walked out in La-re-do one day G D7 G D7 I saw a young cowboy all dressed in white linen G C D7 G Dressed in white linen as cold as the clay

V2: “I see by your out-ft that you are a cow-boy” These words he did say as I boldly stepped by “Come sit down be-side me and hear my sad story I am shot in the breast and I know I must die …” V3: “Once in a saddle I used to go dashing Once in a saddle I used to go gay First to the court-house and lay down the roses But I'm shot in the breast and I'm dyin' to-day!” V4: “So beat the drum slowly and play the ffe lowly Play the dead march as you carry me a-long Take me to the green valley they'll lay the sod o'er me For I'm a young cow-boy and I know I've done wrong!” V5: “Go bring me a cup, a cup of cold water To cool my parched lips,” the cow-boy then said Be-fore I re-turned his soul had de-parted And gone to the round-up — the cow-boy was dead V6: We beat the drum slowly and played the ffe lowly And bit-terly wept as we bore him a-long For we all loved our comrade, so brave, young, and handsome We all loved our com-rade al-though he’d done wrong … G C D7 End G

10 I Ride An Old Paint Traditional, collected by Margaret Larkin & Lynn Riggs Notable renditions by Cisco Houston, The Weavers and Linda Ronstadt Waltz time - Each chord = 3 beats - Waltz strum or thumb-strum - Starting note: Open G

Intro: G7 G7 C C G7 G7 F C

C C C C V1: I ride an old Paint, I lead an old Dan G7 G7 C C I'm going to Mon-tan’ for to throw a houl-i-han G7 G7 C C They feed in the coolies, they water in the draw G7 G7 F C Their tails are all matted, their backs are all raw

G7 G7 C C Chorus: Ride a-round, little dogies, ride a-round real slow G7 G7 F C The fery and the snuffy are raring to go

V2: Bill Jones had two daughters and a song One went to Denver, and the other went wrong His wife she died in a pool-room fght And still he keeps singing from morning til night … Chorus

V3: Well when I die, take my saddle from the wall Put it on my pony, and lead him from his stall Tie my bones to his back, turn our faces to the west And we'll ride the prairie, that we like the best … Chorus

Outro: G7 G7 F End on C

11 Rye Whiskey Traditional - Notable renditions by Tex Ritter and Pete Seeger

SP: Waltz time - Each chord = 3 beats - Waltz strum or thumb-strum

Intro: D D G D D D A7 D

D D G D Chorus: Rye whiskey, rye whiskey, rye whiskey I cry D D A7 D D D D If you don’t give me rye whiskey, I surely will die

V1: I’ll eat when I’m hungry, I’ll drink when I’m dry If the hard times don’t kill me, I’ll live till I die … Chorus

V2: Jack o’ diamonds, jack o’ diamonds, I know you of old You’ve robbed my poor pockets of silver and gold … Chorus

V3: If the ocean was whiskey and _I_ was a duck I’d dive to the bottom and never come up … Chorus

V4: But the ocean ain’t whiskey and _I_ ain’t a duck So we’ll round up the cattle and then we’ll get drunk! … Chorus x2, End D

12 Part 3

I Want to Be a Cowboy’s Sweetheart Patsy Montana (1935) - First country song by a female artist to sell over 1 million records

SP: Standard time - Each chord = 4 beats - Quick thumb-strum

Intro: C C G E7 A7 D7 G G

G G G G A7 A7 A7 A7 V1: I want to be a cowboy's sweetheart … I want to learn to rope and to ride D7 D7 D7 D7 D7 D7 G G I want to ride o'er the plains and the desert … out west of the great di-vide G G G G C C I want to hear the coyotes howlin’, while the sun sets in the West C C G E7 A7 D7 G G I want to be a cowboy's sweet-heart, that’s the life that I love best

G G G G A7 A7 A7 A7 V2: I want to ride Old Paint, goin' at a run, I wanna feel the wind in my face D7 D7 D7 D7 D7 D7 G G A thousand miles … from the city lights … goin’ a cowhand's pace G G G G I want to pillow my head near the sleeping herd A7 A7 A7 A7 while the moon shines down from a-bove C C G E7 I want to strum my guitar and yo-do-lay-ee-hee, A7 D7 G G oh, that's the life that I love!

Repeat V1, End on G

13 El Paso written and recorded by Marty Robbins (1959)

SP: 6/8 time (fast waltz) - Each chord = 6 fast beats, except *= 3 beats - 6/8 strum or thumb-strum

Intro: G Am D7 D7* G G

G Am D7 D7* G G V1: Out in the West Texas town of El Paso… I fell in love with a Mex-ican girl G Am D7 D7* G G Nighttime would fnd me in Rose's Cantina, music would play and Fe-li-na would whirl

V2: Blacker than night were the eyes of Felina, wicked and evil while casting a spell My love was strong for this Mexican maiden, _I_ was in love, but in vain, I could tell

C C C G G G7 G7 Ch1: One night a wild young cowboy came in, wild as the West Texas wind... G7 G7 G7 G7* C Dashing and daring, a drink he was sharing with wicked Felina, the girl that I love D7 So in an - ger …

V3: I challenged his right for the love of this maiden, down went his hand for the gun that he wore My challenge was answered, in less than a heartbeat, the handsome young stranger lay dead on the foor

14 C C C G G G7 G7 Ch2: Out through the back door of Rose's I ran, out where the horses were tied... G7 G7 G7 G7* C I caught a good one, he looked like he could run, up on his back and a-way I did ride D7 Just as fast as …

G Am D7 D7* G G V5: I could from the West Texas town of El Paso, out to the badlands of New Mex-i-co Back in El Paso, my life would be worthless, everything’s gone in life, nothing is left It’s been so long since I’ve seen the young maiden, my love is stronger than my fear of death

Ch3: _I_ saddled up and away I did go, riding along in the dark … Maybe tomorrow a bullet may fnd me, tonight nothing’s worse than this pain in my heart And at last here …

V6: I am on the hill over-looking El Paso, _I_ can see Rosa’s Cantina be-low My love is strong and it pushes me onward, down off the hill to Felina I go

V7: Off to my right I see fve mounted cowboys, off to my left ride a dozen or more Shouting and shooting I can’t let them match me, _I_ have to make it to Rose’s back door

Ch4: Something is dreadfully wrong, for I feel, a deep burning pain in my side … Though I am trying to stay in the saddle, I’m getting weary unable to ride But my love for …

V8: Fe-li-na is strong and I rise where I’ve fallen, though I am weary I can’t stop to rest _I_ see the white puff of smoke from the rife, _I_ feel the bullet go deep in my chest

V9: From out of nowhere, Fe-li-na has found me, kissing my cheek as she kneels by my side Cradled by two loving arms that I'll die for, one little kiss and (slow:) Fe-li-na... good... bye End G

15 Ghost Riders in the Sky Stan Jones (1948) Notable rendition by Johnny Cash but this song chart follow’s Nancy Cassidy’s arrangement

SPs: Standard time - Each chord = 4 beats, except * = 2 beats - Thumb-strum

Intro: Vamp Am

Am Am C C V1: An old cowpoke went ridin' out one dark and windy day Am Am C E7 U-pon a ridge he rested as he went along his way Am Am F F When all at once a mighty herd of red eyed cows, he saw Am Am Am E7* Am Am/(4) Plowing through the ragged skies … and up a cloudy draw

C C Am Am F E7 Am Am Chorus: Yip-ie i-ay … yipie i-oh … ghost riders in the sky

V2: Their brands were still on fre and their hooves were made of steel Their horns were black and shiny and their hot breath you could feel A bolt of fear went through him as they thundered through the sky For he saw the riders coming hard … and he heard their mournful cry …Chorus

V3: Their faces gaunt, their eyes were blurred, their shirts all soaked with sweat They’re ridin' hard to catch that herd but they 'ain't caught 'em yet They've got to ride forever on that range up in the sky On horses snorting fre as … they ride on, hear them cry … Chorus

V4: The riders loped on by him, he heard one call his name If you want to save your hide and soul a-riding on our range Then cowboy change your ways today or with us you will ride Tryin' to catch the devil herd … a-cross these endless skies Chorus x2, End Am

16 Mamas Don’t Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Cowboys Ed & Patsy Bruce - Released by Ed Bruce (1975), made famous by Waylon Jennings & Willie Nelson on Waylon & Willie (1978)

SP: 6/8 time (fast waltz) - Each chord = 6 fast beats, except *= 3 beats - Thumb-strum

Intro: Vamp D

D D G G V1: Cowboys ain't easy to love and they're harder to hold A7 A7 D D They'd rather give you a song than diamonds or gold D D G G Lonestar belt buckles and old faded Levis, and each night begins a new day A7 A7 A7 D D If you don't understand him, an' he don't die young, he’ll prob'ly just ride a-way

Chorus: D D G G Mamas, don't let your babies grow up to be cowboys A7 A7 A7 A7* D Don't let 'em pick guitars or drive them old trucks, let 'em be doctors and lawyers and such D D G G Mamas, don't let your babies grow up to be cowboys A7 A7 A7 D D 'Cos they'll never stay home and they're always alone, even with someone they love

V2: Cowboys like smokey old pool rooms and clear mountain mornings Little warm puppies and children and girls of the night Them that don't know him won't like him and them that do sometimes won't know how to take him He ain't wrong, he's just different but his pride won't let him do things to make you think he's right

Chorus x2, End on D 17 Pancho and Lefty Townes Van Zandt - The Late Great Townes Van Zandt (1978)

SP: Standard time - Each chord = 4 beats, except * = 2 beats - Thumb-strum or Double fnger picking

Intro: Vamp A

A A E7 E7 V1: Livin’ on the road, my friend … was gonna keep you free and clean D D A E7 And now you wear your skin like iron and your breath is hard as kerosene D D A D You weren't you mamma's only boy, but her favorite one it seems A D* E7 E7 D F#m F#m* D* She be-gan to cry when you said good-bye … and sank into your dreams

V2: ___ Pancho was a bandit, boys, his horse was fast as polished steel ___ He wore his gun outside his pants for all the honest world to feel ___ Pancho met his match, you know, on the deserts down in Mexico Nobody heard his dyin' words … oh, but that's the way it goes

D D A D Chorus 1: All the Feder-a-les say they could have had him any day A D* E7 E7 D F#m F#m* D* They only let him hang a-round … out of kindness, I sup-pose

V3: Lefty, he can't sing the blues ___ all night long like he used to ___ The dust that Pancho bit down South ended up in Lefty's mouth ___ The day they lay poor Pancho low, Lefty split for Ohio ___ Where he got the bread to go … there ain't nobody knows …

18 D D A D Chorus 2: All the Feder-a-les say they could have had him any day A D* E7 E7 D F#m F#m* D* They only let him slip a-way … out of kindness, I sup-pose

A A E7 E7 V4: The poets tell how Pancho fell and Lefty's livin' in a cheap hotel D D A E7 The desert's quiet, Cleveland's cold and so the story ends, we're told D D A D Pancho needs your prayers, it's true, but save a few for Lefty, too A D* E7 E7 D F#m F#m He just did what he had to do … and now he's growin' old

Chorus 3: ___ A few gray Feder-_a_-les say, “We could have had him any day We only let him go so wrong … out of kindness, I sup-pose…”

Repeat Chorus 3, End on F#m

19 If I Had a Boat Lyle Lovett - Pontiac (1987)

SPs: Standard time - Each chord = 4 beats, except * = 2 beats - Guitar strum or Thumb-strum

Intro: G G C G G D7 G G

C G C G Chorus: If I had a boat, I’d go out on the ocean C G Em D7 And if I had a pony, I’d ride him on my boat C G C G And we could all to-gether go out on the ocean G D7 G G I said me upon my pony on my boat

G G C G V1: If I were Roy Rogers, I’d sure enough be single G G D7 D7 I couldn't bring myself to marry an old Dale G G C G Well, it'd just be me and Trigger, we’d go riding through them movies G D7 G G Then we'd buy a boat and on the sea we'd sail … Chorus

V2: The mystery masked man was smart, he got himself a Tonto 'Cause Tonto did the dirty work for free But Tonto he was smarter and one day said kemo sabe Well, kiss my ass, I bought a boat, I’m going* out to sea … Chorus

Interlude: C G C G C G Em D7 D7/(4)

V3: And if I were like lightning, I wouldn't need no sneakers I'd come and go wherever I would please And I'd scare 'em by the shade tree, and I'd scare 'em by the light pole But I would not scare my pony on my boat* out on the sea … Chorus

G D7 G End G Outro: I said me upon my pony on my boat 20