Old Days

      G                            
I was sittin' in the dressing room 
             C
with Brownie McGee
       Em                          
He was drinkin' that milk with that
 D
 Dewar's Whiskey
                   G               
Said John, there's nothin' written 
                       C
anywhere, suggests the blues will 
set you free
    Em              D       G
Old days are comin' back to me

      G                            
I was ridin' in the back seat, with
 C
 Sonny Terry
                 Em            
Little harmonica player used to 
                               D
drive him around, I think his name 
was Harry
         G                       
Tried to get him to eat tofu, raw 
             C
vegetables, nuts, and berries
    Em                  D         G
But Sonny wasn't havin' any of it

          G                        
He let me share a room with 'em for
   C
 a couple of weeks
      Em                           
Sonny slept with his good eye open 
                 D
staring out from under the sheets
      G                         
I was young and uncomfortable, I 
                    C
don't mind tellin' ya kinda gave me 
the creeps
    Em              D       G
Old days are comin' back to me

G                   C
Old days are comin' back to me
           Em                    
Don't know what was so good about 
               D
'em, I played practically free
      G                    
I had nothin' to live up to 
 C
everywhere to be
    Em              D       G
Old days are comin' back to me

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        G                      
On some dates with Mose Allison 
           C
somewhere out in the Midwest
                Em                 
Said some of my lyrics reminded him
                               D
 of the poet Kenneth Patchen I took 
it as a compliment
           G                       
He was re- ferring to the line 
                     C
about wearin' neon signs on your 
wounds, later on, I knew what he 
meant
Em           D              G
Old days are comin' back to me

     G                             
On a date with John Lee Hooker at a
        C
 packed joint up in Washington
   Em                              
He came in with a gorgeous woman on
             D
 each arm as I was singing my song
G                                 
Walked 'em right up and sat 'em on
                 C
 the edge of the stage as I went 
singing along
           Em              D      
And that's called "evenin' son, 
      G
I'm the headliner"

G                   C
Old days are comin' back to me
             Em                    
I don't know what was so great 
                D
about 'em, I played practically free
      G                            
But I had nothing to live up to and
 C
 everywhere to be
    Em              D       G
Old days are comin' back to me

         G                         
Played a gig with John Hammond Jr. 
      C
up in Vancouver BC
       Em                        
Exotic dancer came in my dressing 
               D
room, started dancing exotically
          G                        
They were smoking something in the 
                             C
audience that night, smelled exactly
 like cat pee
    Em              D          G
Old days are comin' back to me

G                                 
Opened up a gig for Gatemouth 
          C
Brown down in Baton Rouge
       G                           
He was playing that Hillbilly, 
                 G
Jazz, Cajun, Country Zydeco, and 
Blues
G                                 
Throwin' it out past the walls 
  C
like some kind of musical centrifuge
Em           D              G
Old days are comin' back to me

G                   C
Old days are comin' back to me
             Em                    
I don't know what was so good about
               D
 'em, I played practically free
          G                    
But I had nothin' to live up to 
 C
everywhere to be
    Em              D          G
Old days are comin' back to me

      G                   C
Yeah, old days are comin' back to me
             Em                    
I don't know what was so great 
                D
about 'em, I played practically free
          G                    
But I had nothin' to live up to 
 C
everywhere to be
    Em              D          G
Old days are comin' back to me

Em           D                 G
Old days are comin' back to me