Tabbed by: John Wu

Tuning: Standard

Intro:
G5 (first four bars just strum G5 , use the 320003 'regular/standard' G-chord (see chord tabs below))

G5                        D5
La la la la la la la la laaa
G5                        C5
La la la la la la la la laaa
         C5
La la la laaa
C5                        C5   
La la la la la la la la laaa
         G (last 'la' blends with first word of first verse below)
La la la laaa 
G5
Christopher Daniel Gay was arrested on a Friday
In Florida at the Daytona International Speedway
G5
He was a fugitive on the run,
Christopher made a quick escape
                 D5      
while being transported in a van
that was picking up convicts state to state.
G5
He did it during a bathroom break,
he hot-wired somebody's pickup

In fact,
C5
Christopher had a long history of theft
involving trucks,
C5
He was on route to Alabama
for stealing someone's travel trailer
C5
Grand Theft Auto
He was a career criminal, jailbird
         C5
who also had three outstanding warrants
in his home state of Tennessee
   G5
It was an outstanding performance that set him free

Little Houdini
Stole a big rig, then a tour bus that belonged to Crystal Gayle
to evade a five state manhunt that wanted to put that birdy back in jail
but they failed
G5
'cause Christopher wasn't just running from cops
Christopher Gay was now racing a clock
D5
his mother was dying
and there was no time to be held
inside of a cage with locks
G5
so yall can turn up your nose
                                                C5
and suck on your teeth and wag your finger like tsk-tsk
but he had to take the risk
Little Houdini
C5
There wasn't a single thing sinister in his decision
to break from the prison
C5
His only motive was to go back to his childhood home
while his mom was still living
G5
it wasn't a house
more like an old mobile camper
where she was bedridden diagnosed with colon cancer

Sometimes,
     G5
The only answer we're left with
when the loved one's name is on the death list
      D5
Is to head for the exits and go home
Christopher got the hell out of Texas
G5
His abandonment was reckless
It prolonged his sentence
           C5      
Y'all can forget it

He had numerous convictions and none were as strong as this
C5
Unless you consider the other instance
He went the distance
C5
Similar situation, it was a bizarre coincidence
C5
When he escaped from the prison the first time,
Not this time, but the one before
G5
He visited his dad
Cause he was dying inside of a mental ward
Suffering from Alzheimer's
He paid respects
Made his peace
When he was done
He didn't run
He returned himself back to the police

That's when his mom made her plea
She said:
G5
"He knows what he done was wrong,
                  A5
but he knows his father don't got long
            G5
He's not a fugitive on the run
            A5
He's not dangerous, he's our son

he ain't never hurt no one
Eb5
He knows what he's done was wrong,
                  Bb5
but he knows his father don't got long
            G5
He's not a fugitive on the run
            D5
He's our son"

This ain't no country western song.

G5
Christopher wasn't just running from cops
Christopher Gay was now racing a clock
      A5
his mother was dying
and there was no time to be held
inside of a cage with locks
G5
So Y'all can go on tossing rocks
                        A5
And talk your talk like tsk tsk

Meanwhile Chris is stealing a tractor trailer from Wal-Mart
Eb5
An 18 wheeler, he's peeling rubber the bird takes flight down turnpikes
Bb5
Three hundred thousand dollars worth of merchandise, but it ain't worth her life
G5
Ran it off the road, and abandoned it
                   D5
50 yards from his moms to avoid the cops
Thats half a football field from her feeble arms
Eb5
After all this stuff
The tour bus, the pick up trucks
              Bb5
The tractor trailer, interstate chases
He put on the brakes and couldn't get close enough
G5
The news reporters told people to lock their doors
                  D5
Like there was a monster on the loose but there was no truth to those reports.
Eb5
His mom had weeks to live
And Chris had years to serve
Bb5
They were within shouting distance
But I don't think he heard her final words.
Fb                                    D5
I don't think he heard her final words.

She made her plea to the TV
G5
"He knows what he's done was wrong,
                  A5
but he knows his mama don't got long
            G5
He's not a fugitive on the run
          D5
He's not dangerous, he's my son
he ain't never hurt no one
Eb5
He knows what he's done was wrong,
                  Bb5
but he knows his mama don't got long
            G5
He's not a fugitive on the run
                             D5
                       he's my son"

This ain't no country western song.

G5
The third time he escaped from a state cop at the Georgia pit-stop
A5
He just slipped out of the handcuffs, he jumped ship then he took off
G5
With no father to visit, and no mom to go home to
     A5
Just an open road where he could be free
Little Houdini
Eb5
With no father to visit, no mom to go home to
      Bb5
Just a wide open sky where he could fly
  G5
With no father to visit, no mom to go home to
        D5
Just an open road where he could be free
Little Houdini

Eb5
With no father to visit, no mom to go home to
       Bb5
Just a wide open sky where he could fly
G5
With no father to visit, no mom to go home to
        D5
Just an open road where he could be free
Little Houdini
Eb5
With no father to visit, no mom to go home to
       Bb5
Just a wide open sky where he could fly
Fb
With no father to visit, no mom to go home to
              D5
Just an open road where he could be free
      G5
Little Houdini....

Chords/notes: All the 'G' and 'D' chords i play this way...

      G5      D5
e | ----3-----2---- | 
B | ----0-----3---- | 
G | ----0-----2---- | 
D | ----0-----0---- | 
A | ----2-----0---- | 
E | ----3---------- | 

All the other chords use barre chords (bar chords) 
      G5      C5      C5      C5      A5       Eb5       Bb5      Fb
e | ----3------3----3-----3-----5------6-----6----1-- | 
B | ----3------4----4-----5-----5------8-----6----1-- | 
G | ----3------3----5-----5-----6------8-----7----2-- | 
D | ----5------5----5-----5-----7------8-----8----3-- | 
A | ----5------3----3-----3-----7------6-----8----3-- | 
E | ----3------3----3-----3-----5------6-----6----1-- | 

I did this tab using a picture of the guitar chords from the 
Li(f)e recording session that Sage Francis posted online... 
I've played it to myself over and over and it sounds close, 
if not exact.
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