1913 Massacre Woody Guthrie
Fairly simple and pretty freely played
Just about the entire song is played with one pattern:
E |--------- B |-----0--- G |-------0- D |---0----- A |--0------ E |---------
ie, A:
E |--------- B |-----2--- G |-------2- D |---2----- A |--0------ E |---------
A: X0222X (maybe easier if barred)
Bm'(?):X0443X
D: X0023X
G: X2003X
played with capo II
(sounding key, E)
A Bmâ?? A
Take a trip with me in nineteen thirteen
To [D]Calumet, Michigan, in the[G] copper countr[A]y.
Bmâ?? A
I'll take you to a place called Italian Hall
Where the[D] miners are h[G]aving their big Christmas[A] ball.
A Bmâ?? A
I'll take you through a door, and up a high stairs.
Sin[D]ging and dancing is [G]heard every[A]where,
Bmâ?? A
I will let you shake hands with the people you see
And [D]watch the kids d[G]ance round that big Christmas [A]tree.
Bmâ?? A
You ask about work and you ask about pay;
The[D]y'll tell you that they make less than a[G] dollar a d[A]ay,
Bmâ?? A
Working the copper claims, risking their lives,
So it's [D]fun to spend [G]Christmas with children and w[A]ives.
A Bmâ?? A
There's talking and laughing and songs in the air,
And [D]the spirit of Christmas is [G]there every[A]where,
Bmâ?? A
Before you know it, you're friends with us all
And you're [D]dancing [G]around and around in the[A] hall.
A Bmâ?? A
Well, a little girl sits down by the Christmas tree lights
To [D]play the piano, so you [G]gotta keep [A]quiet.
Bmâ?? A
To hear all this fun you would not realize
That the [D]copper-boss thu[G]g-men are milling outs[A]ide.
A Bmâ?? A
The copper-boss thugs stuck their heads in the door
One[D] of them yelled and he screamed, "[G]There's a f[A]ire!"
Bmâ?? A
A lady, she hollered, "There's no such a thing!
Keep on [D]with your [G]party, there's no such a th[A]ing."
A Bmâ?? A
A few people rushed, and it was only a few
"It[D]'s only the thugs and the scabs [G]fooling y[A]ou."
Bmâ?? A
A man grabbed his daughter and carried her down
But the [D]thugs held the[G] door and they could not get[A] out.
A Bmâ?? A
And then others followed, a hundred or more
But[D] most everybody [G]remained on the fl[A]oor.
Bmâ?? A
The gun-thugs they laughed at their murderous joke,
While the [D]children were[G] smothered on the stair by the[A] door.
A Bmâ?? A
Such a terrible sight I never did see
We [D]carried our children back [G]up to their[A] tree.
Bmâ?? A
The scabs outside still laughed at their spree
And the [D]children that [G]died there were seventy-[A]three.
A Bmâ?? A
The piano played a slow funeral tune
And[D] the town was lit up by a [G]cold Christmas [A]moon,
Bmâ?? A
The parents they cried and the miners they moaned,
"See [D]what your [G]greed for money has [A]done."
Go easy on me; first tab.
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