Brother James (1937-05-05, Aurora) chords by Big Joe Williams

SimplifiedG · C · D

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Verse 1
G 
C 
G 
C 
 (G major)  (C major)  (G major) Brother James went out ridin',  (C major) 
G 
D 
G 
 (G major) ridin' in that  (D major)  (G major) '29 Ford
C 
Brother James  (C major) went out ridin',
G 
ridin' in that  (G major) '29 Ford
Well, that poor man was drinkin' bad whiskey,
hoo- hoo- well, boys, he sure done losed his soul

Verse 2
G 
Lord, I went out in Greenville,  (G major) 
looked down in Brother James' face
(Beat it on out, sad words to say)
C 
Lord, I  (C major) went out in Greenville,
G 
looked down in Brother  (G major) James' face
I says, "Sleep on, Brother James,
I will meet you Resurrection Day."

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Verse 3

Lord, Brother James died of a sudden,

and he didn't have time to pray

(Lay it on out, boys)

Brother James died suddenly,

didn't have time to pray

I said, "Goodbye, Brother James,

Verse 4
hoo- hoo- well, I meet you Resurrection Day."
G 
 (G major) Now, he left Sister Lottie,
tryin' to save her wicked soul
(Play it, boys)
C 
 (C major) Now, he left Sister Lottie,
G 
tryin' to save  (G major) her wicked soul
C 
She ain't gon' drink  (C major) no more whiskey,
G 
hoo-  (G major) hoo- well, boy won't ride in no '29 Ford

Verse 5
G 
 (G major) I  went to the graveyard,
C 
G 
C 
G 
 (C major) and  (G major) I peeped down  (C major) in Brother  (G major) James' face
C 
 (C major) Lord, I went to the graveyard and I,
G 
peeped down in  (G major) Brother James' face
Says, "You know you died drunk, Brother James,
C 
G 
and you  (C major) didn't have  (G major) time to pray."

Verse 6
G 
Farewell,  (G major) Brother James,
hope we will meet someday
C 
(Play it for poor Joe  (C major) once)
Farewell, Brother James,
G 
hope we will meet someday  (G major) 
I will be at the feasting table, hoo- hoo- well,
when they stick Brother James away