THE BALLARD OF SPIDER JOHN - Willis Alan Ramsey



Am                   C
   Spider John is my name friends
    D                                         Am
I'm in between freights and sure would be obliged
           C                G Cadd9 G
If I could share your compa-ny
    Am           C               D               G
I'm on my way to nowhere... Been runnin' from my past
Am               C                G   Cadd9 G
Runnin' from the things I used to beeee-ee-ee

       Am                  C
Now, I know my words sound strange to you
           D                                         Am
But if you wait till my song is sung and the story's told
          C             G    Cadd9 G
You might come to under-stand
        Am               C                D              G
Why I'm old and bent and Devil spent, and runnin' out of time
         Am                C                 D
When not long ago I held a Royal Flush in my hand


CHORUS
        Em          Em7
I was a supermarket fool
        A7                        Em  Em7             A7
I was a motor bank stool pidgeon,     robbin' my home-town
  Em                  Em7           A7
I thought I'd lost my blues. Yes, I thought I'd paid my dues
  F                   C               Em    Em7 
I thought I'd found a life to suit my style
        G                F           C                 Am
And old Spider John, the robber man... long, tall, and handsome
         G                  F            C        Am
Yes, old Spider John with a loaded hand,   takin' ransom


Am                    C
   Then one day I met Diamond Lil
D
She was the sweetest thing, I declare,
         Am              C             G  Cadd9 G
That the summer wind had ever blown my way
Am              C             D              G
Lil, she had no idea of my il-lustrious occu-pation
    Am                           C             G     Cadd9 G
She thought I was a saint, not a sinner gone a-straaay-aaay

 
Am                   C                 D
Spider, he loved his Lilly so much, he could not confess his sins
                  Am             C               G    Cadd9 G
For he knew if he did, she would surely take her leave
                      Am                  C
But you know that the word got around and Lilly left town
       D               G
And he never saw her a-gain
Am                   C                    D
Tossin' and turnin', causin' his heart to grieve


[REPEAT CHORUS]


Am                C
   That is all my story
     D                                           Am
It's been these thirty years since I took to the road
           C              G  Cadd9 G
To find my precious jewel one
Am            C                D              G
If you see my Lilly, won't you give her my re-gards?
             Am                        C                 G 
Tell her ol' Spider got tangled in the black web that he spun
                     Am                        C                 G   Cadd9 G
You can tell her ol' Spider got tangled in the black web that he spun