****Almost ALL DBT songs are played a FULL step down in tuning(DGCFAD), as such... all
these tabs assume that you are in this tuning, the chord names simply refer to the
the actual key)****
WIFE BEATER
G
You met him at the dance hall
D
You only saw his charms
C G
You said he really swept you off your feet
Then one night he’s drinking
D
and jealousy enraged
C G
He knocked out two of your front teeth
G D
so you came over to hide out at my place
C G
I guess I should have killed him there and then
G
but you begged me not to
D
now you say he’s changed
C G
and you’re gonna go back to him
G D
Don’t give me that bull about how it’s for the children
C G
A man like that could never be a dad
G
What happens when he kills you?
D
What will they do then?
C G
Sometimes you ought to ask yourself that
C G
Don’t go back to him he’s a wife beater
D G
You’d be better off with this potato eater
C G Em
You say he’s changed, don’t be a fool
G D G
A man like that’s no good for you
G D G
A man like that’s no good for you
lyrics by Patterson Hood
music by Drive-by Truckers (Cooley, Hood, Howell, Lane, Neff)
© 1998 Soul Dump Music
written on Elvis’ birthday 1/8/97 at the grocery store
dedicated with love to the great Tammy Wynette
Alabama Music Hall of Fame inductee
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__________________________________________________________________________________
DEMONIC POSSESSION
(chorus)
Demonic Possession
His court’s in session
I sign my confession
Demonic Possession
It was raining on the day she told me
them things that fella sold me
Mama wasn’t there to scold me
No prison or cell could hold me
I still recall the date
I’z probably about eight
when I sealed my fate
You honor I rightly state
(repeat chorus)
Suddenly I had a foot hold
I became such a butthole
I don’t need nobody consoling me
No one but the devil controlling me
I can kick ass and talk backward
I hang out with a whole bunch of slackers
and I know I can get some help from him
I listen to a lot of Led Zeppelin
(repeat chorus)
I got so much money I don’t need smarts
My records are flying to the top of the charts
and I’m eating in all those fancy restaurants
and Hanging out with Sam Phillips
and I owe it all to him
Oh, the shape I’m in
The devil says the only thing that’s buggin him
is Hell’s filling up with Republicans
(repeat chorus twice)
lyrics by Patterson Hood
music by Drive-by Truckers (Cooley, Hood, Howell, Lane, Neff, Sell)
© 1998 Soul Dump Music
written in august 1996 during G.O.P. convention
recorded july 21, 1997
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__________________________________________________________________________________
THE TOUGH SELL
"She’s a beaute, yes sir she is" said EZ DAN, fifty five, a bad age,
smelling of Brute from Fabrege’ and sweat
EZ DAN don’t bathe a lot these days (and why the hell should he anyway?)
"She’s got a few miles on her, but then again, who don’t?"
he said with a slight chuckle, the recent Binaca Blast still lingering on his breath,
"and besides, them’s highway miles"
I shifted my weight from one foot to the other
it certainly wasn’t the car of my dreams, but the price was right
and EZ DAN assured me the mid 70’s were a particularly nice period
for Chrysler products in general
"and this one is a Volare’"
and besides, finally having an eight-track means I can play
all them tapes I ain’t been able to listen to since high-school
so we stuffed EZ DAN’s body in the trunk and hauled ass out of town
but somewhere just past the middle of nowhere the fuel pump blew
and the oil pump too, and the piston rods hurled straight through the engine block
dropping oil, gasoline, water, and anti-freeze onto the Alabama red clay below
Ain’t that a bitch?
I ain’t never been lucky with love
lyrics by Patterson Hood
music by Drive-by Truckers (Cooley, Hood, Howell, Lane, Neff, and Sell)
©1998 Soul Dump Music
written spring 96 recorded 7/21/97
dedicated to the Quadrajets 187 / 10-4
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__________________________________________________________________________________
THE LIVING BUBBA
The A chord used in this song is Asus2 as best as I can tell.
-3--
-3--
-2--
-2--
-0--
-X--
Intro: Cadd9 , Em7
--3------3----|
--3------3----|
--0------0----|
--2------2----|
--3------2----|
---------0----|
Cadd9
I wake up tired and I wake up pissed
Em7
wonder how I ended up like this
Asus2 Cadd9
I wonder why things happen like they do
Em7 Asus2 Cadd9
but I don't wonder long cuz I got a show to do
Cadd9
I'm sick at my stomach from the A.Z.T.
Em7
Broke at my bank cuz that shit ain't free
Asus2 Cadd9
but I'm here to stay (at least another week or two)
Em7 Asus2 Cadd9
I can't die now cuz I got another show to do
Cadd9
Don't give me no pity don't give me no grief
Em7
Wait till I die for sympathy
Asus2 Cadd9
Just help me with this amp and a guitar or two
Em7 Asus2 Cadd9
I can't die now cuz I got another show to do
Cadd9
Don't give me no preachin' no self servin'
Em7 Asus2 Cadd9
I ain't no angel but nobody's deserving
Em7 Asus2 Cadd9
I can dance on my own grave, Thank You!
Em7 Asus2 Cadd9
but I can't die now cuz I got another show...
G
Some people keep saying I can't last long
D
but I got my bands I got my songs,
Em7 Cadd9
liquor, beer, and nicotine to help me along
G D
and I'm drunk and stubborn as they come
Em7 Cadd9
chain smoking, guitar picking, til I'm gone
Cadd9 Em7
I ain't got no political agenda
Asus2 Cadd9
Ain't got no message for the youth of America
Em7 Asus2 Cadd9
'cept "Wear a rubber and be careful who you screw"
Em7 Asus2 Cadd9
and come see me next Friday cuz I got another show...
G D
Some people stop living long before they die
Em7 Cadd9
Work a dead end job just to scrape on by
Em7 Asus2 Cadd9
but I keep living just to bend that note in two
Em7 Asus2 Cadd9
and I can't die now cuz I got another show...
lyrics by Patterson Hood
music by Drive-by Truckers (Cooley, Hood, Howell, Lane, Neff)
©1998 Soul Dump Music
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__________________________________________________________________________________
LATE FOR CHURCH
Transcription by Dan Reppert
INTRO
F C X2
F
Late for church again
C
Never seem to be on time
F
Hear the bells as they peal through the holler
C
Doesn't sound like a friend of mine
F
A hundred eyes turn as I enter
C
Face burnin' as I walk past pews
F
I can tell they think I'm a sinner
C
Hear them whisper while I'm watching my shoes
F
Only seat left is right up front
C
I'm not a bit surprised
F
Back is soft but the seat is hard
C
Why can't they get it right?
INSTRUMENTAL PART
F C
C B C (Root Notes only)
D
F C
G G
F
Reverend Bob is pointin' his finger
C
Mom and Dad follow every last word
F
All this hollerin' makes me wonder
C
Does a whispered prayer get heard?
F
Reverend Bob is preachin' out thunder
C
Fire and brimstone pouring down
F
Me, I'm wondering what's for dinner
C
Waitin' for 12 o'clock to come round
D C
Everybody's got their own Heaven
F G
They all find it their own way
F C
I am an angel
lyrics by Adam Howell/Patterson Hood
music by Drive-by Truckers
� 1998 Soul Dump Music (BMI)
__________________________________________________________________________________
PANTIES IN YOUR PURSE
(chords pulled from altcountrytab.com)
[C]Saw you standing [G]in the hallway,
[F]red plastic cup, and one of those [C]big long [G]cigarettes
[C]You asked me if I could [G]play you some Dylan
[F]I said "Dylan who?" you told [C]me to kiss your [G]ass
[Dm]I apologized, [F]but you could [C]tell I didn’t mean it by the [G]way I rolled my eyes
[Dm]and when you said it wasn’t [F]me it was you
[C]somehow I knew you were [G]gonna tell me why
Solo Break
Stuff was flying out of the window
falling and breaking on the pavement underneath
He’s screaming at you, red faced and fuming
He’d come home early, parked his car way up the street
You had your stockings in your hand, panties in your purse
it was ten a.m. and all the neighbors heard
him calling you a whore and a tramp
you just stood there while your heels sank into the warm wet ground
Solo Break
He got a lawyer, you got a bottle
He got the children and you moved in with your mama
She fixes breakfast and lets you drive her car
she don’t care how late you call to tell her where you are
Y’all still fight and she still nags you some
but somehow it’s different now than when you were young
It’s your own damn fault you been threw hell
for one reason or another, seems like she kinda blames herself
__________________________________________________________________________________
WHY HENRY DRINKS
Intro : A, E, D
---------------0--2-----|
----3----------0--3-----|
-2--2--2-------0--2-----|
-2--2--2--4-2--1--0-----|
-2-----2-------2--------|
-0-------------2--------|
---------------0--------|
A
Them stories that you tell me are so hard to swallow
You said “Go to hell” but I know you’d just follow
D F#
The future’s closing in quicker than you think
A E D A
and hanging with you I know why Henry drinks
A
Those obnoxious drunks downstairs are fighting and cussing
and twelve years of me and you don’t add up to nothing
D F#
You say what’s on your mind - tell it to your shrink
A E D A
so he can know like me why Henry drinks
E
Just a few more hours till the sun comes back around
to tear each other down and drink another round
lost it on the way now I’m hating what we found
D
mendacity and grudge-fucks and pieces out of town
A
I drink half a case of beer on my way home from work
Daddy needs his medicine to keep his hands off Mama’s throat
D F#
Baby, push a little harder cuz you got me on the brink
A E D A
of spilling more than guts about why Henry drinks
A E D A
Telling you so much about why Henry drinks
lyrics by Patterson Hood
music by Drive-by Truckers (Cooley, Hood, Howell, Lane, and Neff)
©1998 Soul Dump Music
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___________________________________________________________________________________________________
18 WHEELS OF LOVE
Intro:
G, D, Cadd9
G, D, Cadd9
G, D, Cadd9, D
Mama ran off with a trucker
Mama ran off with a trucker
Mama ran off with a trucker
Peterbilt Peterbilt
He is making her give life another stab
They can see the world from way up in the cab
Mama ran off with a trucker...........
Peterbilt Peterbilt
She can quit her job and be his little bride
He can get a local route and stay home by her side
She can fix him roast beast and sweet potato pie
He can eat a lot of it cuz he’s a big ole guy
They got married in Dollywood
(by a Porter Waggoner lookalike)
18 Wheels of Love
for Mom and Chester, on the occasion of their marriage, July 1994
lyrics by Patterson Hood
music by Drive-by Truckers
©1998 Soul Dump Music
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__________________________________________________________________________________
STEVE MCQUEEN
(chords and tab by Travis Kilgore from altcountrytab.com)
The G and C chords that the band uses are the ones where you keep your pinkie finger on
fret of the
E string and your ring finger on the third fret of the B string, and only raise the root
up a string to change from
G to C. (Sorry if that’s confusing, but I don’t know the names of those chords. Like
and Cadd9 or something odd like that.)
E------------------------------------------------------------------------------3--|
B------------------------------------------------------------------------------3--|
G---------------- 4---4--------------------------------------------------------0--|
D----2-(slide)5------------——--------------------------------------------------0--|(Keep
this G)
A-------------------------0—2—5—2--5----0--7--0—5---0---2---0------------------2--|
E------------------------------------------------------------------------------3--|
NOTE ON THE ABOVE (AND BELOW) SOLO TAB: I’ve watched Patterson Hood play this song
times, and this
tab is damn near on the money. The biggest difference between this and the way he plays
is that he starts the solo at the
7th fret of the A string (and changes the location of the second two notes accordingly),
I start it at the 2nd fret of the
D string. It’s just a question of which way you are more comfortable playing it, but
notes are the same either way.
In fact, I will tab out the second solo to begin the way Patterson plays it so you can
for yourself.
(INTRO/CHORUS)
(G) C G D G
Steve Mc-Queen, Steve Mc-Queen
C G D
G
W hen I was a little boy I wanted to grow up to be
C G D G
Steve Mc-Queen, Steve Mc-Queen
C G D
G
The coolest doggone motherscratcher on the silver screen
C G D
G
I’d drive real fast everywhere no one would ever catch me
C G
D G
And I’d kick your ass if you pissed me off so be careful what you ask me
C G D
G
And I’d never have an empty bottle or an empty bed
C G D
G
And as cool as Paul Newman is I bet Steve could whup his head
Steve McQueen... (Repeat Chorus)
C G D
G
Bullet was my favorite movie that I’d ever seen
C G D G
I totaled my go-cart trying to imitate that chase scene
C G D
G
That Duster had six hubcaps, know what I mean
C G
G
And I love the way they all flew off when it landed in that ra-vine
Steve McQueen…(Repeat Chorus)
C G D
G
I really loved The Getaway back when I was eight
C G D
G
That pussy Alec Baldwin sucked in the remake
C G D G
(Short instrumental break)
C G D
G
And speaking of pussy, I guess Steve got it all
C… G… D…….
He fucked Faye Dunaway and he fucked Ali McGraw
C G D G
Steve Mc-Queen, Steve Mc-Queen
C G D
G
When I was a little boy I wanted to grow up to be
C G D G
Steve Mc-Queen, Steve Mc-Queen
C G D
G
The coolest goddamn motherf**ker on the silver screen
(yee-haw)
(Suddenly the scene turns slow and somber, as a campfire harp plays in the background.
On the album version of this song, the guitar here just plays the root note of the chord
during this verse. For my acoustic rendition I simply strum each chord once during the first
two lines, then strum the chords SLOWLY and SADLY on the third line. Then, sometimes I
do the same on the fourth line, and sometimes I sing it acapella. I will include the
just
in case you wish to strum it.)
C G D G
I went to see The Hunter on my first date
C G
G
The Hunter was the last movie Steve Mc-Queen lived to make
C G D
C
(No, it’s not G this time. And hold it dramatically)
They took my drivers license when I was just six-teen
C G D G
The year Mesotheli-oma killed Steve Mc-Queen
E--------------------------------------------------------------------------|
B--------------------------------------------------------------------------|
G---------------- ---------------------------------------------------------|
D------------------9-----9----——-------------------------------------------|
A----7-(slide)10------------0—2—5—2--5----0--7--0—5---0---2---0----2----5--| (continued
next line of tab…)
E--------------------------------------------------------------------------|
E--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------3-----|
B--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------3-----|
G---------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------------0-----|
playing this G again)
A----5---7-(slide)10------------0—2—5—2--5----0--7--0—5---0---2---0---------------------2----|
E---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------3----|
(G) C G D G
Steve Mc-Queen, Steve Mc-Queen
C G D
G
When I was a little boy I wanted to grow up to be
C G D G
Steve Mc-Queen, Steve Mc-Queen
C G D
G
The coolest goddamn motherf**ker on the silver screen
C G D
G
The coolest goddamn motherf**ker on the silver screen
C G D
G
The coolest goddamn motherf**ker on the silver screen
C G D C (C again, and
the hell out of this chord for a bit)
The coolest goddamn motherf**ker on the silver screen…
(Then really WAIL the last line…)
STEEEEEEVE MAAAAAACQUEEEEEEEEN!!!!
(Then just beat the hell out of G for the outtro…)
(c) 1998 Soul Dump Music
dedicated to my grandfather W. M. Patterson
(Mesothelioma is a rare cancer of the lining of the lung caused by exposure to asbestos.
mortality rate is known to be extremely high.)
__________________________________________________________________________________
BUTTHOLEVILLE
------------------|
------------------|
------------------|
-22---2--22---2---|
-00-3-0--00-3-0---|
------------------|
A
Tired of living in Buttholeville
Tired of my job and my wife Lucille
D
Tired of my kids Ronnie and Neil
A
Tired of my 68 Bonneville
Working down at Billy Bob’s Bar and Grille
The food here tastes like the way I feel
D
There’s a girl on the dance floor dressed to kill
A
She’s the best looking woman in Buttholeville
A
One day I’m gonna get out of Buttholeville
Gonna reach right in Gonna grab the till
D
Buy a brand new hat and a Coupe deVille
A
lay a patch on the road that runs over the hill
There’s a beach somewhere where the water’s are still
Gonna lay in the sun till my skin peals
D
Drinking the best scotch whiskey, eating lobster and eel
A
and I’m never going back to Buttholeville
A G
Never going, never going, never going never going back!
lyrics by Patterson Hood
music by Adam’s House Cat (Cooley, Cahoon, Hood, Tremblay)
©1990 Cat House Music (ASCAP)
additional music by Drive-by Truckers (Cooley, Hood, Howell, Lane, Neff, and Stacy)
©1998 Soul Dump Music
originally written in July 1988
a lot of folks back home really take issue with (and to a large extent misunderstand)
song.
back to top
__________________________________________________________________________________
SANDWICHES FOR THE ROAD
All packed to go, baloney and mayonnaise sandwiches for the road
lay them out across the dash in the August sun
and if they turn green don’t be afraid
nothing can hurt you but yourself
nothing can hurt you but yourself
I been given to visions from time to time (Mighty fields of vision)
and the voice in my brain can be a little unkind sometimes
Go ahead, point it at me, I ain’t scared
nothing can hurt you but yourself
nothing can hurt you but yourself
and if you see me on the street and if I whop you on the head
you probably got it coming
and if you hit me back, we’ll call it even, but I ain’t going down easy
cuz my mama loves me and I got friends in Decatur, Alabama.
So drink another drink and smoke another cigarette
something’s gonna get us yet
Cuz I got ashes in my throat and I ain’t got no vote
it’s just the way I stand myself
nothing can hurt you but yourself
nothing can hurt you but yourself
lyrics by Patterson Hood
music by Drive-by Truckers (Cooley, Hood, Howell, Lane, and Neff)
©1998 Soul Dump Music
written for and dedicated to the great Eddie Hinton
(His masterpiece, “Very Extremely Dangerous” is now available on Capricorn Records.
Fidelity has also recently released “Letters From Mississippi” and it is very fine.)
Thanks to Johnny “Sailcat” Wyker, Wayne Perkins, Dick Cooper, and Jimmy Johnson for the folklore.
