xDouble dropped D tuning (D-A-D-G-B-D,
Capo 1st fret (sounding key Eb minor)
[Intro]
(same strumming pattern throughout the song):
| . . . | . . .
e|---0--keep--------|-----------------|
B|---3-strumming----|-----------------|
G|---2--------------|-----------------|
D|---------0------3-|-0-------0-----3-|etc.
A|-------3----------|-------3---------|
E|-0----------------|-----------------|
[Descending Run in Verses]
/C Dm
e|---0---0-----|---0-------0---------|
B|---3---3-----|---3-------3---------|
G|---2---0-----|---2-------2---0-h1--|
D|-------------|--------0------------|
A|-3---2-------|-----3---------------|
E|-------------|-0-------------------|
[Verse 1]
Dm
Hollis Brown
/C Dm
He lived on the outside of town
Hollis Brown
/C Dm
He lived on the outside of town
With his wife and five children
/C Dm
And his cabin broken down
[Verse 2]
(same as the first one)
You looked for work and money
And you walked a rugged mile
You looked for work and money
And you walked a rugged mile
Your children are so hungry
That they don't know how to smile
[Verse 3]
(same as the first one)
Your baby's eyes look crazy
They're a-tuggin' at your sleeve
Your baby's eyes look crazy
They're a-tuggin' at your sleeve
You walk the floor and wonder why
With every breath you breathe
[Additional verse in the Gaslight version:]
[Verse 4]
(same as the first one)
There's bedbugs on your baby's bed
There's chinches on your wife
There's bedbugs on your baby's bed
There's chinches on your wife
Gangerene snuck in your side,
It's a-cuttin' you like a knife.
[Verse 5]
(same as the first one)
The rats have got your flour
Bad blood it got your mare
The rats have got your flour
Bad blood it got your mare
If there's anyone that knows
Is there anyone that cares?
[Verse 6]
(same as the first one)
You prayed to the Lord above
Oh please send you a friend
You prayed to the Lord above
Oh please send you a friend
Your empty pockets tell yuh
That you ain't a-got no friend
[Verse 7]
(same as the first one)
Your babies are crying louder
It's pounding on your brain
Your babies are crying louder now
It's pounding on your brain
Your wife's screams are stabbin' you
like the dirty drivin' rain
[Verse 8]
(same as the first one)
Your grass it is turning black
There's no water in your well
Your grass is turning black
There's no water in your well
You spent your last lone dollar
On seven shotgun shells
[Verse 9]
(same as the first one)
Way out in the wilderness
A cold coyote calls
Way out in the wilderness
A cold coyote calls
Your eyes fix on the shotgun
That's hangin' on the wall
[Verse 10]
(same as the first one)
Your brain is a-bleedin'
And your legs can't seem to stand
Your brain is a-bleedin'
And your legs can't seem to stand
Your eyes fix on the shotgun
That you're holdin' in your hand
[Verse 11]
(same as the first one)
There's seven breezes a-blowin'
All around the cabin door
There's seven breezes a-blowin'
All around the cabin door
Seven shots ring out
Like the ocean's pounding roar
[Verse 12]
(same as the first one)
There's seven people dead
On a South Dakota farm
There's seven people dead
On a South Dakota farm
Somewhere in the distance
There's seven new people born.
