When You're Twenty-One chords by Carl Perkins, Johnny Cash

SimplifiedD · A · Esus4 · G · Dm …

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D
A
Esus4
G
Dm
F

Intro 1

Verse 1
D 
A 
It was Christmas Eve
Esus4 
D 
G 
the      night your poor Ma died,
And I reckoned she prayed all of her life
D 
that she could raise you to be 21
A 
And then you never moved into town,
D 
boy, we just kept on living out here
A 
Dm 
D 
Oh, and life's been good and bad, son,
G 
for the past twenty -one years.
A 
Oh, I remember now when
you were a little fella,
D 
and I used to take my boy to church.
G 
D 
And when you sang the Christmas carols
A 
with the other boys,
D 
oh, it gave Daddy's heart a  jerk.
F 
D 
G 
Why, you sounded a  lot like a little angel,
D 
A 
boy, and a papa you sure looked sweet,
even though your little ragged britches
D 
came halfway to your
A 
G 
skinny little knees.
Oh, and it made your papa proud, boy,
A 
D 
and it filled my old heart
A 
with joy.
Preacher'd step down and
he'd pat your head
D 
and he'd say,
My, my, got yourself a fine little boy.
G 
Well, maybe my life down here's about over,
D 
boy.
Maybe my days on earth's
A 
about done.
Maybe now I'll see your mama
D 
live with the Lord, boy.
G 
Merry Christmas to you and