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Tony Joe White : The Beginning
2001


  1. Rich Woman Blues
  2. Raining On My Life
  3. Ice Cream Man
  4. Going Back To Bed
  5. Drifter
  6. More To This Than That
  7. Down By The Border
  8. Wonder Why I Feel So Bad
  9. Clovis Green
  10. Rebellion
  11. Who You Gonna Hoodoo Now?

Rich Woman Blues

D7
Got a telephone call this mornin' My baby wrecked her Mercedes Benz
G7
She called me up this mornin'
D7
Totalled out her Mercedes Benz
A7
G7
I said, long as you alright baby, that's all that matters
D7
Let 'em tow the thing on in
This woman Got a three-bedroom condominium Little old place down in Florida A three-bedroom condominium A little old ranch down in Texas She says them oil wells are so much fun Sometimes she give me money 'Cause she knows I hardly make enough to eat I don't mind tellin' y'all she give a little money 'Cause she knows I hardly make enough to eat 'Cause she knows a man that plays the blues Livin' one step from the street


Raining On My Life

It was sometime in late September And the leaves were turning brown And as near as I can remember I was somewhere on the ground And the rain was softly falling Falling softly on my life Went to school to learn an occupation And it seemed I was doing fine But you know it's a bad situation When you're not allowed to speak your mind And the rain was softly falling Falling softly on my life I looked a long time to find some answers To some things I had in my head But you know it sure ain't easy To walk the highways in US Keds And the rain was softly falling Falling softly on my life And the rain was softly falling Falling softly on my life


Ice Cream Man

Am
She's a cover pulling mama but I don't mind her in my bed I got the fireplace going and the firewood in the shed
E7
Am
She got a nice warm body and sweet dreams in her head
She's a cool mamma jamma but she don't like to wait If you tell her you're coming well you better not show up late She's a shotgun rider but she don't open no gates
D
C
G
D
Am
She's a laid back lover with a Destin tan
D
C
G
D
Am
She's a hip-slinging mamma and you know I'm her ice cream man
Sometimes she's a little girl licking on an ice cream cone But she can be a man-handler, you know the woman is strong She can play all day, ride the gator all night long She's a laid back lover with a Destin tan She's a hip-slinging momma and you know I'm her ice cream man


Going Back To Bed

Capo:
III
Asus2
B7
E
Asus2
B7
E
C
D
E
C
D
E
Asus2
B7
E
Monday mornin' stabbed me in the face
Asus2
B7
E
So many things that oughta be done today
C
D
E
Throw the paper in the trash, all the bad news read
C
D
E
Monday ain't happenin', I'm goin' back to bed
Last Friday evenin' I was doing alright Party goin' on, and it lasted into Saturday night I kick back on Sunday, took my day of rest But I still gotta feelin' I need to go back to bed There's so many possibilities of breakin' new ground But the responsibilities can bring me down And I don't want somethin' like that hangin' over my head 'Cause you never know when you might have to go back to bed Dark clouds rollin' and it looks like there's comin' a storm My baby's still sleeping, keeping my place warm I could snuggle in beside her, can't get it outta my head Just another good reason for goin' back to bed Goin' back to bed


Drifter

Capo:
IV
Em
C
D
Em
There's a feeling way down in my bones
C
D
G
When I know I've stayed much too long
C
Am
D
And I see the questions in her eyes
C
Am
D
Never was much good at goodbyes
C
D
Bm
Em
But on a cold, rainy night I'll remember
C
Am
D
I know I'll wish I had stayed
Em
Drifter
One ol' dollar bill won't get a lot Tighten up your belt another notch But you know the times are kind of hard When it comes down to pawning your guitar But something's bound to come along tomorrow It don't take much to get you by Drifter
Instrumental verse
Drifter You tried your hand in them cotton fields down south You finally get your pay and head on out And that night you lose it all on a queen of spades But it ain't win or lose, it's how you play There's a blue north a-coming on again That old denim coat is mighty thin Where you gonna spend the winter Drifter


More To This Than That

Tuning: DADGBE (Drop D)
Times are moving kinda fast I been hangin' out in the past Living in a world of hi-tech With an old guitar hanging 'round my neck Pre-hysterical All my clothes are out of date Gonna clean out, have a giveaway So many socks but there ain't no pair And I got them crawling underwear A pair of worn out jeans and raggy hat Ought to be more to this than that Buzzards circling overhead I ought to give it up, I must be dead If this is the end of me Just keep my guitars in the family Don't put 'em under glass and tune 'em flat Ought to be more to this than that I used to think all I had to do Was just keep the music in the groove But now I know that life's too short To ride an ugly headed horse


Down By The Border

Moonlight out on the water The salty air touching my skin Walking with a barefoot woman On the Padre Island sand She was golden brown And her hair shined just like silver The words left unspoken But there was something strong there between us The crowd down in Reynosa Filled the arena with their cheers The blood flowed in the hot afternoon They sit and laugh and drink their beer But her face was just like stone And she left her heart unguarded And I fell so hard for her Down by the border Her face was just like stone And she left her heart unguarded And I fell so hard for her Down by the border


Wonder Why I Feel So Bad

Woke up this morning, didn't wanna leave my bed I was wrestling with my pillow, I knew I couldn't stay there I was dreaming about a ship, but I don't think it's ever coming in I don't know where I'm going, and I hope it ain't where I've been Lord, I'm wondering why I feel so bad I've been spending the days watching the clouds go by Trying to keep from thinking about how I'm gonna make it through the night I could reach for the whiskey, reach for the pills But I'd have to face the morning and the cheapness of the thrill Lord, I'm wondering why I feel so bad, bad, bad, bad So many memories, no good in looking back Trying to walk on this good earth, but I ain't leaving no tracks Searching for the feeling to be a child again I can almost smell the river, river on my skin, yeah skin Lord, I'm wondering why I feel so bad Can't stop these thoughts running through my head Lord, I'm wondering why I feel so bad


Clovis Green

Em
C
D
Em
Clovis Green was a wealthy man
C
D
Em
He made his living raising sugar cane
C
D
Em
He had spent his life working the land
D
Em
Just outside the town of New Orleans
His daughter Angelie was an only child She was a lovely girl of seventeen You would never find her out running wild She was a debutante in New Orleans
G
Dm/a
Sent her off to the finest school
C
Em
So very young never paid no dues
G
Dm/a
Her momma said "honey you can't lose
C
Em
We've got your life planned out for you"
But they received a letter in the spring And she wrote "I know y'all think I'm crazy But I'm coming home, I've broken all your dreams 'Cause you see, I'm going to have a baby" And his wife looked at him and said: Clovis, can you tell me true What in the world are we gonna do? We've given her everything we can Lord sometimes I just don't understand A child was born in the fall But nobody ever mentioned the father But when all the neighbors came to call They would say he looked just like his mother


Rebellion

Some people talk Just to hear their lips rattle Got their high positions Same old ship but with a different paddler Told me that I had to get commercialized If I was gonna fit in with the show, no Don't want no one telling me I got to I move in my own time Play this guitar anyway I want to I own it and the amplifier Everybody is getting tired Of pushing buttons on their radio Where was it wrote down They got to cram it down our throats I don't give a damn about the formulas Hook lines make me feel like a fish, hook this Wear my hair long down to my hip bone If that's the way I feel Wear my sunshades even in the night time Ride my woman in a Coupe de Ville I might want to rock Play the blues all night long I'm in this thing for life I didn't come here for just one song They can't put the music in a small bag It's got to stay as free as I feel Don't want no one telling me I got to I move in my own time Play this guitar any way I want to Lightinin' Hopkins is a friend of mine Don't want no one telling me I got to I move in my own time Play this music any way I want to I must keep it alive Just check it up


Who You Gonna Hoodoo Now?

Coffee skin, little bit of cream Golden eyes with a touch of green High cheekbone, kinda tall You won't think twice if you think at all She like a panther on the prowl Who you gonna hoodoo now? Had a residence, down in Covington I knew she had a sweet tooth so I bought her some Like to stay out late, dance all night along She would only make love at the break of dawn She took me up so high I can't look down Who you gonna hoodoo now? I searched it out with a fine tooth comb And I knew I oughta leave that woman alone Heard about a place, Saint Francisville A little rehabilitation to cure you ills But I don't think they could help me anyhow Who you gonna hoodoo now?