Sittin Up With The Dead

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[Verse 1]
A
Well out in the country we didn't 
have mortuaries
    D                              
And so it was always customary for 
    A
the undertaker to do his job
             B7                    
And lay your kin out right there at
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 home.
          A
Yeah, the church would loan you 
folding chairs
               D
And you'd have visitation and 
everything right there
             A
But when the nighttime come you'd 
have to sit up with the dead
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Cause it wasn't right to leave them
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 alone.

[Verse 2]
A                                 
Well the last time I sat up was in
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 '65 when my old arthritic Uncle 
Fred died
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He was 97, so stooped over the 
    B7                           
mortician couldn't straighten him 
  E
out
            A
They used a loggin' chain to hold 
him down
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Covered that all up with a cape 
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and gown and didn't tell nobody in 
the family
Cause that's the kind of stuff 
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folk's just don't want to know 
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about.

[Verse 3]
             A                     
Well we were all sittin' there, it 
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was three in the morning
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And then there came up a cloud, 
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thunder, lightnin' and stormin'
A
Well that lightnin' flashed, and the
 thunder clapped
D
And that chain round old Uncle Fred 
went snap!
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Rattled and fell to the floor with a
 thump
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        A
And old Uncle Fred just sat right 
up.  (YEOW)

[Chorus]
A                                 
And I ain't sittin' up with the 
            D                  A  
dead no more, I don't know 'bout 
D  A
you
      A                            
No, I ain't sittin' up with the 
              E                    
dead no more, no matter what you 
    D  E
say or do
             A
They say the dead can't hurt you 
cause they already left
              D
But what they left can sure make you
 hurt yourself
      A                         B7
And I ain't sittin' up with the dead
 no more
          E                       
Since the dead started sittin' up 
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too.    Lord, have mercy.

[Bridge]

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[Verse 4]
A
Well when Uncle Fred sat up so did 
everyone there
    D
And there came a great partin' in 
the folding chairs
         A
And that preacher nearly knocked me 
down, he said,
          E
"Ooh, I'm headin' out that kitchen 
door."
             A
I hollered, "Rev, that kitchen ain't
 got no door in it!"
          D
He said, "Don't worry son it will 
have in a minute!"
      A                       
And I ain't never seen so much 
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jumpin' and shovin' before.
D  C  A


[Verse 5]
     A
Then somebody stepped on some old 
cat's tail
       D
And he let out a scream, a screech, 
a wail
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And to say the least that howl 
                         B7      
didn't hwlp to calm the situation 
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down
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And then that lightnin' flashed, 
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and that house went black
      A
And I spoke to my feet and said, 
"Boys, make tracks."
      E                            
And I went through that screen door
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 lickety split for town.

[Verse 6]
       A                        
Well I cut through the cenetary, 
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fell into a hole
       A                         
It was Uncle Fred's grave, it was 
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dark and cold.
          A
Yeah, the town drunk dug it too deep
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And unbeknownst to me he's still in 
there asleep.
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And I'm scratchin' and jumpin' 
tryin' to get out of that hole
E                         N.C.
And he woke up amd said, "E ght as 
well come over here and sit down 
beside me, boy,
N.C.
Csuse you ain't gettin' outta here 
tonight."
N.C.
But I did.

[Chorus]
A                                 
And I ain't sittin' up with the 
            D                  A  
dead no more, I don't know 'bout 
D  A
you
      A                            
No, I ain't sittin' up with the 
              E                    
dead no more, no matter what you 
    D  E
say or do
             A
They say the dead can't hurt you 
cause they already left
              D
But what they left can sure make you
 hurt yourself
      A                         B7
And I ain't sittin' up with the dead
 no more
          E                       
Since the dead started sittin' up 
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too.