William Elliott Whitmore - Lee County Flood

D

The summer wind is blowing westward

.........................................A

over the field of fresh moved hay

A

Let's go up to the barn loft

................................................D

lay back and watch the sparrows play

I can see the evening sky
from the holes rusted in the tin
Let's close our eyes and fall asleep
and listen to the storm roll in

..G.............................................D
It sounded like a thousand horses' hooves

...........................................................A

The sound of the pourin' rain on the old tin roof

......G

The clouds were as black as the smoke form the stack

.................................D

of an old coal-burning train

D.....................................A............................D

Lay back and listen to the sound of the pourin' rain

It ain't rained in weeks and now it just won't stop
All the rivers and the creeks
are getting fuller with every drop
If the levee holds it's ground
and keeps that water back
the Mississippi won't reach my little tar-paper shack

Well now the sun shines on the roof
and the moonshine is in the cellar
and what a happy feller I am
to finally see the sun
now that the rain is done
'cause I've had about all I can stand
I can't tell where my pond begins
an where my cornfield ends
The cattle done floated away
'cause the water's up over the fence

William Elliott Whitmore - One Man's Shame (Banjo Tab)

Cm Rift:
d:--------5----4--5--4--5----
B:--------4----4--4--4--4----
G:--5----5----5--5--5--5----5
D:-------5----5--5--5--5----
g:-------0----0--0--0--0----


Cm...F...Cm


Cm...G(w/ rift)...Cm


G rift:
d:--1-0

Cm
Don't alter my altar

Cm
don't desecrate my shrine

...........................F
My church is the water

..................................................Cm
and my home is underneath the shady pines

Cm
Don't underestimate the spine in a poor man's back

................................G...............................Cm
when it's against the wall and his future's black

One man's story is another man's shame
I ain't bound for glory, I'm bound for flames
Take to the woods boy, and cover up your tracks
Go away child and don't look back

Sad is the lullaby from a mother's heart and soul
when she knows her child has strayed from the foal
The parish will perish
by death's cruel hand
and finish the job that fate began
All that static in the attic,
that's just an old drunk ghost
His chains are rattlin' but his end is close
Ain't no hell below and ain't no heaven above
I came for the drinks but I stayed for the love

William Elliott Whitmore - Sometimes Our Dreams Float Like Anchors

N.C.................................G
And the hammer swings high and comes down hard

.......................D...........................G
Drive another nail into my coffin lid

...............................................................C
And as the days go by if I can play my part

....................G.........D......................G
Well I'll feel no remorse for what I did

Your mother would cry if she only could
But those days are gone, those days are gone
And she always tried to see the good in everything that you done

................................C..................................G
And sometimes our dreams they float like anchors

..................D...............................G
in hopeless waters oh way down here

......................C.............................G...G/F#..Em
Sometimes it seems that all that matters most

......G.........D..............................G
are all the things that you can't keep

Oh, the skin, Oh, the skin
That this old world has placed me in
I can't wait to shed, I can't wait to shed
Lord I'll be free when I'm dead

William Elliott Whitmore - Does Me No Good

A.........................D..............A
Can I forgive my past transgressions

.........D.................................A
Can I forgive my own past sins

A
That's not likely

.....D.......A.....................E........A
No I will never feel the same again

Well, it does me no good to say I'm sorry
Although I am, for what it's worth
But you can't hear me for you're resting
Six feet under the cold black dirt


................D.................................A
Oh, them daisies they sure look pretty

...............E......................A
Blooming down by your stone

A..................................D.........A
They remind me that life continues

......................E........A
And I'll never be alone

I'd give my body, I'd give my soul
For one more chance to make amends
But that's not possible for my means could not justify my end
It does me no good to sit and think of
All the things that I done wrong
It took me forever to remember what I should have known all along

Well if you can hear my last confession
If you can hear my final plea
Oh, although I never showed it
Oh, you meant the world to me
It does me no good to recollect on
All that whiskey has done been spilt
And my bow ain't gonna flow all the way down by them bricks of guilt

William Elliott Whitmore - Lord Only Knows

Intro: D.......C...G

G..................................................................C..................G
Well, them loved ones who were paddlin' for that far shore

G.........................................................................D
They're lilies of the field who will bloom never more

G.......................................C.....................G
Well, they have gone over to the next phase

G..........................................D..............G
And brought to an end their earthly days


D.......................................C....................G
And lord only knows how's it's gonna end

D
Who stays and who goes

C..............G
Lord only knows

G.........................................C..................G
And every good chapter it comes to a close

D.................................C..............G
Nothing lasts forever, lord only knows

Them flowers from your funeral are starting to wilt
From cigarette smoke and a room full of guilt
But it was better for them than sticking around
Cause they lost their will to live when ripped from the ground

And lord only knows how it's gonna end
What dies and what goes
Lord only knows
And every good chapter it comes to a close
Nothing lasts forever, lord only knows

Well, you had a heart as big as the sky
And for a good long time it healed me inside
But it was better for you than sticking around
Cause you lost your will to live in this river front town

And lord only knows how's it's gonna end
Who stays and who goes
Lord only knows
And every good chapter it comes to a close
Nothing lasts forever, lord only knows
Enjoy it while you can cause lord only knows

William Elliott Whitmore - Rest His Soul

G........................................F......C....G
We were living proof of a dying dream

G................F.................C..........G
truth is no one saw us coming

G..............................F...............C..................G
and there's always one more song left to sing

G........F......................C...........G
so we hit the ground running

and it was all for the light, the spark, and the moment
for our miracle point
and the needle raised up and the record stopped spinning
but the music kept going

D..........................F..........C..........G
rest his soul and lay him down

......D.......................................F.........................C...........G
the spirit is willing but the flesh can not be found

D.............F............C.............G
bless his soul and lay him down

well honey covered by the tedium of other men's ways
our path was all wrong
and mindless, endless nights and days
the best that I've known

and it was all for the reason, for the pure simple truth
for those that have come and have gone
sometimes I just don't know what to do
but to just keep on

rest his soul and lay him down
the spirit is willing but the flesh can not be found
bless his soul and lay him down
the spirit is willing but the flesh is in the ground
my brother, my brother why won't you go on home
your love ones miss you and we've gone too long
bless his soul and lay him down

William Elliott Whitmore - Dry

F

F...........................C.................Bb...........F
Well the song of the blackbird is mighty clear

F.............C..............Bb
On a mornin’ such as this

F................C..............Bb.............F
And all those useless pains & fears

F.............C................Bb
Those things that i won’t miss

And the Morning Glories and Queen Anne’s lace
Baptized by the wind
These inspirations are my saving grace
In these times we’re living in

Dm..C..F....
Dm..C..F....

Make a hard man humble
Make a proud woman hide
Her eyes from the light of day
When all the crops have withered and died
And the soil has blown away

Dm........C..........F
The ground is so dry

Dm..............C................F
The river’s on its hands and knees

Dm..............C............F..............C
And i hear that tune in the breeze

The crow is callin’ and i hear him well
Up in the red bud tree
Any the stories that you’ve lived to tell
Pass ‘em down to me

Whisper the truth
Into your childrens ears
Let them know
Let them understand
Let them hear

The song of the blackbird is mighty loud
Through the evening mist
The moon is up and it looks so proud
Lookin’ down on a night, on a night like this