Honey I'm a Big Boy Now
Billy Bragg

from the album: Talking with the Taxman about Poetry

Posted UltimateGuitar.com by Matt Quinn
Any corrections or suggestions welcome.

One of my all time favourite Billy Bragg songs. Another tragic tale of love
gone wrong, this time it's due to the hero not pulling his weight with the
domestic chores. Anyone know of any other songs on this theme? Do let me know.

Note that the last chord of the verse pattern is G7 on odd verses (when
followed by another verse) but C7 on even verses (when followed by the
chorus)

Verse 1:
      C               C7
I can see the kitchen light
         F                    F
From the road where I park my bike
         C                C              G7      G7
But it's dark there as it often is these days
        C             C7
And the gloomy living room
       F                F
Really needs a dust and broom
    C                  G7          C
But I can't brush your memory away

[One bar of G7 after verses 1 & 3; one bar of C7 after verses 2 & 4]

Verse 2:
Her father was an admiral
In someone else's navy
And she had seen the world before I met her
She would wash and cook and clean
And all the other things between
And like a fool I just sat there and let her

Chorus 1:
          F                  F
Now I can feed and dress and wash myself
    C                 F
And sleep without the light on
C            C       G7    G7
Honey, I'm a big boy now
  C                      C7
I don't know what she does
             F            F
With all the money that I send her
      C                   G7                    C
She's running 'round the town with the young pretender

Verse 3:
I haven't touched the garden
Since the day she walked away
From a love affair that bore only bitter fruit
She took everything she wanted
Which is why she left me here
With these pots and pans and my old wedding suit

Verse 4:
A letter came one morning
That she would not let me see
And from that day I began to realize
That she would one day break
The home we tried to make
For sinners cannot live in paradise

Chorus 2:
Now I can feed and dress and wash myself
And sleep without the light on
Honey, I'm a big boy now
I don't know what she does
With all the money that I send her
She's running 'round the town with the young pretender
[one bar of G7]
  C                   C7 
I don't know what she does
             F            F
With all the money that I send her
      C                   G7                     F       C
She's running 'round the town with the young pre-tender