Eliza Gilkyson – Ballad Of Yvonne Johnson (Guitar)

   F               C
My native blood is Cree

    G                C
I'm here to tell the story 

       F                C   F  C  F  C
Of the life stolen from me

    F                   C
The great war chief Big Bear

    G             C
And Flora my grandmother worked

     F            C
With medicine and prayer

   F          C
My daddy ex-Marine

    G            C
And I was just a half-breed 

        F              C     
Falling somewhere in between

F              C
Somewhere in between

G              C
Raised up in a reckless world

   G             C
Of drugs and alcohol

    G                C
The police killed my brother, Earl

    F            G                     
The only one who cared at all

      C
Cleft palate split my face in two

   F             C
No surgery can repair

  G                  C
I lived in shame and ridicule

    F             C
Foundations of despair

    F             C    F  C  F  C
Foundations of despair

F          C 
I was only three

   G               C
He threw me on the table

          F              C
Forced himself inside of me

       F            C
As I descended into hell

       G              C
When I told my daddy 'bout it

         F              C          F
Well, he had his way as well, boys

                   C
He took me down as well

  G             C
I didn't have a language

        G               C
For the pain I suffered through

  G           C
Escaping into marriage

         F                 G
But your past just catches up with you

  C               
Until I had three children

      F          C
And a ragged family

  G                 C
A desperate urge to keep them

         F                  C        F
From the wolves that got to me, boys

                   C
Wolves that got to me

    F                 C
The way the cards all fell

    G                 C
The deck was stacked against me

      F                 C
And I played my part so well

     F            C
In a drunken revelry

G                C
Shirley Ann said Chuck had plans

   F                 C
To lure my kids from me

F                 C
Lure my kids from me

   G                C
We stuck him with a dagger

       G                   C
And we beat him 'round the head

  G                C
I unleashed all my anger

      F                G
And I didn't stop when he was dead

     C
They set me up to take the fall

  F                C
I went down willingly

        G             C
Now I'm doing life in prison

          F                C          F
While the rest of them run free, boys

                    C
They're all running free

F                    C
Send your prayers to me

   G              C
Protect me and my children

      F                C          
For I love them endlessly

F            C
I have come alive

G             C
Medicine Bear Woman

      F              C          F
Doing life at thirty-five, boys

               C
Life at thirty-five 

        F
I pray, help me to make my amends

   C
To those that I have harmed

F
Grant them love and peace so they may

C
Understand I'm sorry

F
Help me share my shame and pain

   C
So others they might do the same

    F
And so awaken to themselves

    C
And to all peoples of this world

    F
Oh, Hai hai, hai hai

C
Ho ho, ho ho

F
Ohh ooh

C
Ohh ooh

F
Ohh ooh