Gillian Welch : Woodland

Capo:

III

|

Em

|

G

|

A7

|

Em

| |

Em

|

A7

|

Em

|

Em

|

Em

G

Saw a freight train yesterday

A7

Em

It was chucking and plugging away

Em

B7

'Cross the river, the trestles so high

Em

G

Just a boxcar of blue

A7

Em

Showing daylight clear through

Em

B7

Em

Just an empty trainload of sky |

Em

|

G

|

A7

|

Em

| |

Em

|

A7

|

Em

|

Em

| Well, it hit me and it hurt me Made my good humour desert me For a moment I was tempted to fly To the devil or the Lord As it hung there like a sword Just an empty trainload of sky

A7

G

Was it spirit? Was it solid?

Em

Did I ditch that class in college?

A7

G

Pull the curtain from my eye

Em

I said hey hey, my my |

A7

|

G

|

Em

|

Em

| |

A7

|

G

|

Em

|

Em

| |

Em

|

G

|

A7

|

Em

| |

Em

|

A7

|

Em

|

Em

| Saw a freight train yesterday It was chucking and plugging away Just an empty trainload of sky Just an empty trainload of sky Just an empty trainload of sky

Capo:

II

|

F

|

Em

|

Dm

|

G

|

x2

F

G

All my world is changing

Am

G

F

I don't know where I'm going

F

G

Apartments rearranging

Am

G

F

The beggar winds are blowing

F

G

Seems like ancient history

Cmaj7

F

You were sleeping I was driving

F

G

While you were lying next to me

Cmaj7

F

I'd scan the blue horizon

F

G

I used to dream of something unseen

Am

G

F

G

It was something that I thought I wanted so bad

G

But now I only want

F

Em

Dm

G

What we had, what we had, what we had

F

G

What we had, what we had

Am

G

Fmaj7

What we had, what we had, what we had |

F

|

Em

|

Dm

|

G

|

x2

F

G

What we had was unspoken

Cmaj7

F

It flowed like wine, like music

G

What we had is broken now

Am

G

F

Though we thought we could never lose it

F

G

I used to dream of something unseen

Am

G

F

G

It was something that I thought I wanted so bad

G

But now I only want

F

Em

Dm

G

What we had, what we had, what we had

F

G

What we had, what we had

Am

G

F

What we had, what we had, what we had |

F

|

Em

|

Dm

|

G

|

F

Em

Dm

G

What we had

F

Em

Dm

G

What we had

F

G

Am

What we had, what we had, what we had

G

F

What we had, what we had

Tuning: DADGBE (Drop D)

Capo:

IV

D

/c

/b

D

Sylvia gonna bring a little water

Bb

D

Bailey's gonna cry until he's fed

D

/c

/b

D

And the fire's gonna burn down to nothing

Bb

D

Poor folk gonna scrap for a piece of bread |

D

/c

|

/b

D

|

x4

And the preacher gonna preach from the bible Devil's gonna laugh at what he says Gambler gonna lay down the last gold dollar Shadow's gonna creep from the farmer's shed

C

G

And lawman, lawman

D

/b

D

Lawman gonna kill my honey dead |

D

/c

|

/b

D

|

x4

Now the ground's gonna freeze when fall is over Fever gonna burn in a big brass bed Big iron will rust, everything's dust to dust Lawman gonna kill my honey dead And lawman, lawman Lawman gonna kill my honey dead |

D

/c

|

/b

D

| |

Bb

|

Bb

|

D

|

Capo:

II

Em

Listen how the bells would ring in the morning What do they say to you, my love? Some hear a song, some hear a warning What do they say to you, my love?

C

They say we gotta get a move along

G

Farther down the line

C

Em

Can't be wasting our time Listen how the birds sing in the evening What do they say to you, my love? Are they rejoicing or are they grieving? What do they say to you, my love? They tell me that love is sweet enough Cheer us on our way Just enough for today Listen how the bells a-ring in the morning What do they say to you, my love? Listen how the bells a-ring in the morning What do they say to you, my love? What do they say to you, my love?

Capo:

II

|

G

|

C

|

x4

|

Am

D

|

G

|

G

C

I don't make it up this way too often But the cold is a little bit hard on me Got to wait for the season to soften Before I make a trip from Tennessee

Am

D

G

Way up in the north country |

G

|

C

|

x2

|

Am

D

|

G

| I guess it's just my blood getting thinner This ain't easy living, no sirree We used to steal away and watch the fireflies after dinner It's a slow-motion dream that you'd ever see Way up in the north country |

G

|

C

|

x4

|

Am

D

|

G

|

C

Bm7

Am

Gmaj7

Winter time in the pines and the snow is coming on

Fmaj7

Am

D

You'll be back when the cold winds blow, I'll be gone Some long dark night you might send me a letter Full of sleepless devilry I'll tell you now, we could be together If you ever get tired of being free Way up in the north country |

G

|

C

|

x4

|

Am

D

|

G

|

Capo:

V

C

F

Once I saw your old familiar face

G

C

I was walking in a new watering place

Am

D7

Been a little lost for a little while

Bb

G

People sometimes go out of style Make a new habit, have a new kid Maybe both, God forbid But all at once you seem to know The very thing that laid me low Caught it like a new form of the flu Chalk it up to our old friend the blues Questions and the answers you'd found Talked me outta that breakdown

F

You said, time makes the wheels spin

C

And the years roll out and the doubt rolls in

Am

G

F

And the truck stops in the parking lots and the cheap motels

C

F

When will we become ourselves?

C

F

When will we become ourselves?

C

F

G

When will we become ourselves? You laughed and said, the news would be bad If I ever saw your name with a hashtag Mmm-mmm, singers like you and I Only news when we die Here I'm sitting round another night Looking at your boots, Jesus Christ! That's some mighty big ones to try and fill Never can, and never will So here's another song that's over now You're another sun that done gone down Put another good one in the ground Good Lord, it's going round Now, let the wheels spin And the tears roll out and the tributes roll in And the truck stops, in the parking lots and the cheap motels When will we become ourselves? When will we become ourselves? When will we become ourselves?

Capo:

I

|

C

G

|

D

G

|

G

C

G

Way up on the Erie they like their chops so fat

C

G

D

I've seen the little women lick their fingers like a cat

G

C

G

While out in California, they like their soya beans

C

G

D

G

I'll pretty much eat anything from soup to turnip greens

G

Bm

Now I try to treat my neighbour like I like them to treat me

C

G

D

Even when they got that dog and cut down that tree

G

C

G

I hate that barking dog, I miss that old oak every day

C

G

D

G

Now I don't everyone to see the world my way

G

Bm

Now the truth is hard to swallow, it's hard to taste

C

G

D

But I do believe we've broken what we never knew could break

Em

C

G

I'm just so disappointed in me and you

C

Bm

D

G

We can't even argue, so what else can we do?

G

Bm

So fill 'em up once again boys, fill 'em up and over the brim boys

C

G

D

There's whiskey but the water's done run dry

Em

C

G

We'll be drinking till the end of a long, long thread

C

D

(

Em

) And the day the mighty Mississippi died |

Em

|

C

D

| |

G

|

Bm

|

C

|

D

| |

Em

|

C

G

|

C

D

|

Em

|

G

Bm

Now the other day I saw a living picture torn from hell

C

G

D

Taken down in Kensington, a place you all know well

Em

C

G

I saw demons laughing, breaking people just for play

C

Bm

D

G

I cried at the table, then I put my tears away

G

Bm

I dug my hands deep into the black mother earth

C

G

D

Tried to raise my spirits up, for what it's worth

Em

C

G

You laughed and said, oh honey, now what did you expect?

C

Bm

D

G

Not these tears and not the years where madness goes unchecked

G

Bm

So fill 'em up once again boys, fill 'em up and over the brim boys

C

G

D

There's whiskey but the water's done run dry

Em

C

G

We'll be drinking till the end of a long, long thread

C

D

Em

And the day the mighty Mississippi died

C

D

C

G

C

G

And the day the mighty Mississippi died

G

C

G

My pony, he did stumble, and sent me to the sky

C

G

D

When the jury brought the verdict, it was the blue-tail fly

Em

C

G

I'm thinking at this melody has lasted long enough

C

Bm

D

G

The subject's entertaining, but the rhymes are pretty rough

G

Bm

So fill 'em up once again boys, fill 'em up and over the brim boys

C

G

D

There's whiskey but the water's done run dry

Em

C

G

We'll be drinking till the end of a long, long thread

C

D

Em

G

C

G

And the day the mighty Mississippi died

Harp:

G

|

G

C

|

D

|

x3

G

C

D

G

C

D

Poor old Turf the gambler, he was a friend of mine

Am

F

D

Crashed upon the pavement by the beast

G

C

D

G

C

D

We'd been playing poker, of course, and drinking wine

Am

D

G

D

G

When we heard his soul had been released Glued him back together and passed a hat around Paid to have it stitched above his bed Of all the words he'd spoken, would greet his tired eyes He awoke transfixed but not dead Poor old Turf the gambler, now he tells his tale Shows his scars from here to Hollywood To waitresses and actresses and princes who preside Over everything you thought was gone for good

Capo:

I

|

G

|

C

D

G

C

You told me that you loved me, never never change

C

D

G

D

And I'm looking in the mirror, and I know that I'm to blame

Am

D/f#

Bm

E

'Cause it's all gone, babe, like the song said

F

C

Fallen from her curls

G

D

Here stands a woman

D

C

G

Where there once was girl

D

C

Come along way from Danville

D

C

G

Where they wear that Danville curl The mother and the father kept me in their care They're both gone, like the ribbons that I used to wear But it's alright ma, things got tight pa So I went and bought a purse Here stands a woman Where there once was girl Come along way from Danville Where they wear that Danville curl

Instrumental verse and chorus

You told me that you loved me, and that would never change But I'm looking in the mirror and I know I'm not the same 'Cause it's all gone, babe, like the song said I been all around this world Here stands a woman |

D

C

|

G

|

Capo:

IV

|

Am

|

G

Am

|

F

C/e

|

G

|

Am

|

Am

G

Am

Tell me what did the blackbird say to the crow?

F

C/e

G

Dry your eyes, don't you cry, ain't gonna rain no more

Am

G

Am

Man on the levee, dry wheat in the field

F

C/e

G

Am

Pretty soon, hear the tune of the thrashing wheel |

F

|

G

|

Am

| Tell me what did the moonlight ask the willow tree? Tell me who is more blue, is it you or me? We've been together since I don't know when The best part's when one starts and the other ends |

F

|

G

|

Am

|

G

|

F

C

G

(

F

) You and me, always gonna be howdy howdy You and me, always walk that lonesome valley You and me, always gonna be howdy howdy |

F

C

|

G

|

F

| Tell me what did the riddle say to the song The Devil he's blowing Reveille and we ain't got long Let's play the spider with the baby on Last time, last rhyme, one more for the road |

F

|

G

|

F

|

G

| One more for the road You and me, always gonna be howdy howdy You and me, always walk that lonesome valley |

F

C

|

G

| ...

Tuning: GDGBD (banjo: standard)

Capo:

IV

(with drone string tuned to

G#

, sounding open

B/g#

)

Am x2212

G x000x

F x3210

C x2010

Gillian Welch : Woodland
2024

Empty Trainload Of Sky

What We Had

Lawman

The Bells And The Birds

North Country

Hashtag

The Day The Mississippi Died

Turf The Gambler

Here Stands A Woman

Howdy Howdy

Gillian Welch : Woodland 2024

Empty Trainload Of Sky

What We Had

Lawman

The Bells And The Birds

North Country

Hashtag

The Day The Mississippi Died

Turf The Gambler

Here Stands A Woman

Howdy Howdy

Gillian Welch : Woodland
2024