Tom: Am
C Am
'Twas a brisk autumn day they remember it well
F C
Tripper went strolling along
Am
He was merely a boy his mom's pride and joy
C F
So sure he could do no wrong
Am G
Running down to the river then up by the tracks
C F
Pretending he was Jesse James
Am C F
With his father's old hat, a stick for a gun
C G C F
Tripper walked home in the rain
C
Such a glorious sight
Am
Fresh flowers in bloom
F C
In the spring when the ice takes to thaw
Am
But it's a rough wretched road a man has to go
C F
Living outside of the law
Am G
For a dark dirty cell was Tripper's own hell
C F
Survival was his battle cry
Am C F
If drinking don't kill me or a villainous gun
C G C
He said I'll live 'til I die
[Chorus]
E Am
Mother dear I'm in trouble here
F C
Far away in the distant West
E Am
I've laid down on stony ground
F G F C
I'm not feeling all the best
F C
F C
Am F C
C Am
Cold wind on the river and rain on the road
F C
Every light in the house burning strong
Am
Somebody's saying a sad rosary
C F
Wondering where Tripper went wrong
Am G
'Cause he met his own maker to a grim undertaker
C F
Took a knife too deep in the lung
Am C F
In a dim parking lot his very last thoughts
C G C
Were the days he went strolling along
[Chorus]
E Am
Mother dear I'm in trouble here
F C
Far away in the distant West
E Am
I've laid down on stony ground
F G F C
I'm not feeling all the best
F C
F C
Am F C
C Am
'Twas a brisk autumn day they remember it well
F C
Tripper went strolling along
