G             D    C              G
Back in the long stretch of loneliness
G        D       C       G
I have come to call a living,
G                 D    C              G
I'm getting something for all this love's labor,
G       D    C       G
even when I am forgetting.

Cm
Oh we oh oh little perennials
                   G
where'd you come from?

G        D    C                   G
Daughter of my father's second cousin,
G     D             C        G
loyalties, I got em by the dozen.
G            D   C                   G
We share a past, we share a blood relation
G              D           C       G
and that's as good as an invitation.

Cm
Oh we oh oh little perennials
                   G
where'd you come from?

Em           D     C
I'm in the North Carolina Mountains,
Em           D          C
just to the west of where I met my calling.
Em           D            C
If you look south to the foothills of these mountains rising,
Em          D              C
that's the place where it feels good falling.
Em          D             C
That's the place that I know.

G          D         C             G
I look for words to fill the empty spaces,
G         D                  C           G
all the life revealed in these back stages.
G             D     C            G
I reach for names like little puzzle pieces;
G     D         C     G
oh perennial, come to me.

Cm
Oh we oh oh little perennials
                    G
where'd you come from?