Am
[Verse 1]
Am C
Spider John is my name, friend
D
I'm in between freights and I sure
Am
would be obliged
C G
If you'd share your company
Am C
I know this may sound strange to you
D
But if you wait till the song is sung
Am
and the story is told
C G
You might come to understand
Am C
Why I'm old and bent and devil-spent,
D G
runnin' out of time
Am C
When I long ago held a royal flush in
D D7
my hand
[Chorus]
Em
Oh, I was a supermarket fool
A7
I was a roll-the-bank stool-pigeon,
Em A7
robbin' my hometown
Em
I thought I lost my blues
A7
Yes, I thought I paid my dues
F C G
I thought I'd found a life to suit my style
G F
But here I sit, ol’ Spider John the robber-man
C Am
Long, tall, and handsome
G F
Yes, ol’ Spider John with a loaded
C Am
hand, takin' ransom
[Verse 2]
Am C
Then one day I met Diamond Lill
D
She was the sweetest thing, I
Am
declare, that the summer breeze had
C G
ever blown my way
Am C
But Lilly she had no idea, of my
D G
illustrious occupation
Am
She thought I was a saint, not a
C G
sinner, gone astray
Am
But you see that word got around and
C
Lilly left town
D G
I never saw her again
Am C
Tossin' and turnin', 'causin' my heart
D D7
to grieve
[Chorus]
Em
Oh, I was a supermarket fool
A7
I was a roll-the-bank stool-pigeon,
Em A7
robbin' my hometown.
Em
I thought I lost my blues
A7
Yes, I thought I paid my dues
F C G
I thought I'd found a life to suit my style
G F
But here I sit, ol’ Spider John the robber-man
C Am
Long, tall, and handsome
G F
Yes, ol’ Spider John with a loaded
C Am
hand, takin' ransom
[Verse 3]
Am C
That is all my story
D
It's been these thirty years since I
Am
took to the road
C G
To find my precious jewel one
Am C D
And if you see my Lilly, won't you give
G
her my regards
Am
Tell her ol’ Spider got tangled in the
C G
black web that he spun
Am
You can tell her ol’ Spider got tangled
C G
the black web that he spun
