Tombstone Blues

F5 F7 F5 F7sus4 F5 F7

[Verse 1]

F          F5                     Bb
The sweet pretty things are in bed now of course
 F5         F                   Bb
The city fathers they’re trying to endorse
 F5        F                Bb      F
The reincarnation of Paul Revere’s horse
Bb               G               F
But the town has no need to be nervous
 F                               Bb         F
The ghost of Belle Starr she hands down her wits
F                   Bb            F
To Jezebel the nun she violently knits
F                   Bb            F
A bald wig for Jack the Ripper who sits
Bb                              F
At the head of the chamber of commerce


[Chorus]
Bb
Mama’s in the factory
                   F
She ain't got no shoes
Bb
Daddy’s in the alley
                  F
He’s lookin' for food
Bb
I am in the kitchen
                    C7
With the tombstone blues
   F7  F
(Yeah Yeah)

[Bridge]

F5 F7 F5 F7sus4 F5 F7

[Verse 2]
F          F5                     Bb
The hysterical bride in the penny arcade
 F5         F                   Bb
Screaming she moans, “I’ve just been made”
 F5        F                Bb               F
Then sends out for the doctor who pulls down the shade
 Bb                         G           F
And says, “My advice is to not let the boys in”
 F                    Bb                     F
Now the medicine man comes and he shuffles inside
F                   Bb                 F
He walks with a swagger and he says to the bride
 F                   Bb              F
“Stop all this weeping, swallow your pride
Bb             G              F
You will not die, it’s not poison”


[Chorus]
 Bb
Mama’s in the factory
                  F
She ain't got no shoes
Bb
Daddy’s in the alley
                   F
He’s lookin' for food
Bb
I’m in the kitchen
                   C7
With the tombstone blues

[Bridge]

   F7   F

[Verse 3]
F              F5                      Bb
Well, John the Baptist, after torturing a thief
 F5           F                      Bb
Looks up at his hero, the commander-in-chief
 F5        F                Bb                 F
Saying, “Tell me, great hero, but please make it brief
Bb               G               F
Is there a hole for me to get sick in?”
 F                     Bb                    F
The commander-in-chief answers him while chasing a fly
F                       Bb                    F
Saying, "Death to all those who would whimper and cry"
F                     Bb                F
And dropping a barbell, he points to the sky
Bb                                    F
Saying, "The sun’s not yellow, it’s chicken"


[Chorus]
 Bb
Mama’s in the factory
                  F
She ain't got no shoes
Bb
Daddy’s in the alley
                  F
He’s lookin' for food
Bb
I am in the kitchen
                   C7
With the tombstone blues

[Bridge]
F5 F7 F5 F7sus4 F5 F7

[Verse 4]
F               F5                      Bb
The king of the Philistines his soldiers to save
 F5                     F                            Bb
Puts jawbones on their tombstones and flatters their graves
 F5          F                    Bb            F
Puts the pied pipers in prison and fattens the slaves
Bb               G            F
Then sends them out to the jungle
 F                          Bb                   F
Gypsy Davey with a blowtorch he burns out their camps
F                    Bb                       F
With his faithful slave Pedro behind him he tramps
F                   Bb            F
With a fantastic collection of stamps
Bb                               F
To win friends and influence his uncle


[Chorus]
 Bb
Mama’s in the factory
                  F
She ain't got no shoes
Bb
Daddy’s in the alley
                  F
He’s lookin' for food
Bb
I’m in trouble
                   C7
With the tombstone blues

[Bridge]

   F7   F

[Verse 5]
F               F5                      Bb
The geometry of innocence, flesh on the bone
 F5               F                   Bb
Causes Galileo’s math book to get thrown
 F5          F           Bb            F
At Delilah who's sitting worthlessly alone
Bb                G                    F
But the tears on her cheeks are from laughter
 F                          Bb                   F
Now I wish I could give Brother Bill his great thrill
F                    Bb                       F
I would set him in chains at the top of the hill
F                   Bb                       F
Then send out for some pillars and Cecil B. DeMille
Bb                         F
He could die happily ever after


[Chorus]
 Bb
Mama’s in the factory
                  F
She ain't got no shoes
Bb
Daddy’s in the alley
                  F
He’s lookin' for food
 Bb
I am in the kitchen
                   C7
With the tombstone blues

[Bridge]

F5 F7 F5 F7sus4 F5 F7

[Verse 6]
F                        F5                        Bb
Where Ma Rainey and Beethoven once unwrapped their bedroll
 F5               F                   Bb
Tuba players now rehearse around the flagpole
 F5                  F                   Bb            F
And the National Bank at a profit sells road maps for the soul
 Bb                G               F
To the old folks home and the college
 F                   Bb                  F
Now I wish I could write you a melody so plain
F                    Bb                     F
That could hold you dear lady from going insane
F                   Bb                         F
That could ease you and cool you and cease the pain
Bb                                F
Of your useless and pointless knowledge


[Chorus]
 Bb
Mama’s in the factory
                  F
She ain't got no shoes
Bb
Daddy’s in the alley
                  F
He’s lookin' for food
 Bb
I am in the kitchen
                   C7
With the tombstone blues