G                                          D 
John knows to prune the crepe myrtles 
F                         Em 
Before it is their season 
G                          D 
Before the weather freezes 
F                              Em 
He blows the pipe lines clean 
 
Em            C                  G          D 
He worked for the fire department 
Am         D 
Until his injury 
G                         D 
Now he puts out the fires 
Am                    D        G 
For the girl from the city 
 
His family's from these parts 
Before the white men got there 
Grows field corn on his lot 
Keeps the road and dead trees cleared 
 
Em           C            G        D 
He leaves a pile of brushwood 
Em           C                  G       D 
For me to burn, it burns so pretty 
 
John's work is never done 
Helping the girl out from the city 
 
Bm                           C                    G 
His mama goes to the local Baptist church 
Bm              C          G 
His daddy's buried there 
Bm              C                D 
His daddy did two tours of duty 
    Em                C 
As a gunner in the war 
     F 
And was the first 
                                Em 
To greet and treat me like a neighbor