Intro
ABDB
He sleeps out there, out where the coyotes wail,
DAEB
The reason he ain't at the bar with the boys,
BEBDAC#
Makes quite a dismal tale ...
Chorus 1
ACDEA
He shouldn't-a, hadn't-a, oughtn't-a swang on me,
ACDEB
He oughtn't-a, shouldn't-a, hadn't-a, no siree.
CD
You don't get many callers,
EB
Sleeping on the lone prairie.
ACDEA
But he shouldn't-a, hadn't-a, oughtn't-a swang on me.
Verse 1
A
Way out West we're wild and wooly,
A
In order to explain it fully:
CDCD
We're tall grown, all grown,
A
All the men are hairy-chested,
A
And all the women, double-breasted.
A
We're lady-like until molested,
BDE
And then we're on our own!
Chorus 2
ACDEA
He shouldn't-a, hadn't-a, oughtn't-a swang on me,
ACDEB
He oughtn't-a shouldn't-a hadn't-a felt so free.
CD
His wife gets the insurance,
EB
And I'm sorry as can be,
ACDEA
But he shouldn't-a, hadn't-a, oughtn't-a swang on me.
Verse 2
A
This here job is mighty tryin',
A
Sometimes the room is fairly flyin' with
CDCD
High-balls, eye-balls.
A
One got killed, somebody got 'im,
A
Tore up the joint from top to bottom.
A
I think I was that one that shot him,
BDE
As near as I recall.
Chorus 3
ACDEA
He shouldn't-a, hadn't-a, oughtn't-a swang on me,
BABEB
He massacred eight or nine men at the Lazy "B".
ACDA
He then took on the sheriff, and the sheriff's deputy,
ACDEB
But he shouldn't-a, hadn't-a, oughtn't-a swang on me.
Verse 3
A
All you boys remember Harry,
A
The wrangler I was set to marry,
CDCD
A long man, strong man.
A
One night he yells, "I'm from Texas!"
A
And socks me in my solar plexus.
A
Well having normal, good reflexes,
BDE
I knocked him on his can!
Chorus 4
BDEF#B
He shouldn't-a, hadn't-a, oughtn't-a blacked my eye,
EBDFC
I'm really a lovable, peaceable kind of guy.
CDEB
I wouldn't scare a rabbit, and I couldn't harm a flea,
BDEF#B
But he shouldn't-a, hadn't-a, oughtn't-a swang on me.
Music 1
Verse 4
A
If this story has a moral,
A
It's: When you're looking for a quarrel or
CDCD
Show Down. "Slow down."
A
If by now, you haven't mastered,
A
The gentle art of getting plastered,
A
You're just a Low-Down, you ain't mastered,
BDE
The motto of our town!
Chorus 5 ending
BDEF#B
You shouldn't-a, hadn't-a, oughtn't-a start no fight,
DFC
Our burying ground is a most impressive sight.
CDEB
The message on them tombstones is as simple as can be,
DEBEC#F#
He shouldn't-a, hadn't-a, oughtn't-a swang on me,
EF#C#F#DA
He shouldn't-a, hadn't-a, oughtn't-a swang on me!
Notes! All chords are barre chords.
Barre chords- Intro thru Verse 3 between frets 3-7 except: Chorus 1 3rd C, Chorus 2 3rd
C, Chorus 3 2nd C at 8th fret.
Chorus 4 between frets 5-9. Verse 4, frets 3-7. Chorus 5 between frets 5-9 except 5th D
at 10th fret, and 1st A at 12 th fret.
Strumming- Alot of quick, rapid, snapping strumming.