Andy Shauf – Wendell Walker (Guitar)

Am                   G              C
Wendell Walker was a friend of mine.

     Am                     G          C
we’d stain our teeth in the summertime,

          Am                 G               
and with lips of purple, the winter would roll

C                         Em
past the boarded windows into our souls

    Am               D
and shake our weary bones.

    Am                       G                C
now this past winter was the coldest in years.

     Am                        G                 C
it’s hard to explain if you've never lived here,

        Am                  G           
but it locks your doors and starts your mind

C                           Em 
thinking in circles just to pass the time,

    Am                   D
and breaks your weary heart.

     Am                  G           C
now Wendell Walker was a man of God,

       Am                       G           C
but he didn’t care much for his sober mind,

             Am                   G        
and when the cold mixed in he was turned around

C                              Em 
heard the voice of God and the angels sound

   Am                D 
a message just for him:

Am   Em  Am      D      Bm                 C   
my son, my son,      she is the devil’s child

           Bm                 C   
won’t you save her while you can

    Bm             C    D
cut down the other man.

     Am                  G               C
now Wendell Walker was a friend of mine,

        Am                      G           C
but he married too young in the summertime.

       Am                          G     
 their hearts weren’t ripe so they fell apart

      C                    Em 
and I found myself with a joyful heart

       Am             D 
as our secret lives began.

   Am                     G               C
we found our moments in between the hours,

     Am                       G           C
when Wendell Walker drove his car to town.

        Am                           G          
but one day he found a letter that I wrote for her

        C                            Em 
on the top of her dresser and in his winter mind

    Am                 D
he heard the voice of God say:

Am   Em Am   D      Bm              C     
my son, my son,    she is the devil’s child

          Bm                 C    
won’t you save her while you can

    Bm             C     D
cut down the other man.

         Am                        G           C
with the voice of the lord ringing in his ears

         Am                   G                   C
and the note to his wife that confirmed his fears,

   Am              G             
he sat down on the edge of the bed

C                        Em 
read the letter again to see who’d sent it

           Am                D
but it was signed ‘forever yours’.

   Am                      G              C
he stood up slow like he’d just been hit.

       Am                          G                C
walked into the kitchen where his wife was sitting

             Am                    G              
he said, “my mother called on the telephone

     C                                  Em 
she says she needs some help so I’ll be back in the morning"

        Am                D
and he grabbed his heavy coat.

   Am                      G                C
my phone rang while I was watching the news.

     Am                        G                  C
she said the house was ours to cure these winter blues.

     Am                   G                
so I made my way, and we turned the blinds

    C                 Em 
and Wendell walked in just in time

    Am             D
to see our secret die and say:

Am   Em Am   D      Bm              C      
my son, my son      I’m gonna have to cut you down.

           Bm              C    
he pointed his rifle to my eyes

        Bm          C    
but his hesitating hands

      Bm                C    
 were shaking from the cold.

     Bm              C    
so I pushed his gun away,

             Bm          C    
 just as he found his strength.

        Bm                C    
and the bullet kissed her lips

       D
and I cried:

Am   Em Am   D      Bm              C      
my god, my god       what have I done?

       Bm           C    
and he reloaded his gun,

       Bm             C    
and he put it in his mouth.

      Bm           C              D
and I stood in the room that I’d created.