AmDmAm
Well she had twenty years when she turned to her mother
DmAm
Sayin', "Mother I know that you'll grieve,
CDmFAm
but I've given my soul to St. John The Gambler
CAm
Tomorrow comes time to leave.
DmAm
Well the hills cannot hold back my sorrow forever
DmAm
Dead men lie deep 'round my door,
CDmFAm
of the only salvation that's mine for the askin'
EmAm
So mother think on me no more."
DmAm
The winter howled high 'round the mountain's breast,
DmAm
and the cold of a thousand snows
CDmFAm
Lay heaped upon the forest sleep.
CAm
She dressed in Calico.
DmAm
For a gambler likes his women fancy,
DmAm
fancy she would be
CDmFAm
And the fires of her longing would keep 'way the cold,
EmAm
and her dress was a sight to see.
DmAm
But the road was long beneath her feet,
DmAm
she followed her frozen breath
CDmFAm
In search of a certain St. John The Gambler,
CAm
stumbled to her death.
DmAm
And she heard his laughter right down from the mountain,
DmAm
and it danced with her mother's tears
CDmFAm
To a funeral drone of Calico,
EmAm
'neath a cross of twenty years.
DmFAm
To a funeral drone of Calico,
EmAm
'neath a cross of twenty years.
This arrangement for the song is the author's own work and represents their interpretation of the song. You may only use this for private study, scholarship, or research.