Gordon Lightfoot – Cherokee Bend (Guitar)
Capo 4
Key
-
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Speed:
1.0x
Chords
[INTRO:] Dm
[VERSE 1:]
His father was a man who could never understand
F The shame on a red man's face Dm So they lived in the hills and they never came down A7 But to trade in the white man's place
[VERSE 2:]
Dm It was early in the spring when the snow had disappeared F They came down with a bag of skins Dm In the fall of the year of 1910 A7 Dm Daddy died by the rope down in Cherokee Bend
[CHORUS:]
Gm Daddy didn't like what the white man said A7 'Bout the dirty little kid at his side Gm Daddy didn't like what the white man did A7 Nor the deal or the way that he lied
[VERSE 3:]
Dm There was blood on the floor of the government store F When the men took his daddy away Dm But the boy stayed back till he come to his end A7 Dm And he run like the wind from Cherokee Bend
[VERSE 4:]
Dm Now the mother was alone and the winter was at hand F And she prayed to her spirit kin Dm It was warm in the lodge in the Kentucky hills A7 On the day when the boy came in
[VERSE 5:]
Dm Then a blizzard came down and it covered up the door F Till they thought that it never would end Dm And he told her the tale of the terrible affair A7 Dm In the government store down in Cherokee Bend
[CHORUS:]
Gm Daddy didn't like what the white man said A7 'Bout the dirty little kid at his side Gm Daddy didn't like what the white man did A7 Nor the deal or the way that he lied
[VERSE 6:]
Dm For three long days and three long nights F They wept and they mourned and then Dm She returned to her work and her weaving A7 Dm And they tried to forget about Cherokee Bend
[VERSE 7:]
Dm Now the boy wasn't big, but he hunted what he could F And they lived for a time that way Dm But the food run low and the meat went bad A7 And she said to the boy one day
[VERSE 8:]
Dm "I'm leaving tonight and I never will return F From the land of my Spirit Kin Dm You must take what you need and trade what you can A7 Dm For a Red Man's grave down in Cherokee Bend"
[CHORUS:]
Gm It wasn't very long till she closed her eyes A7 And he wrapped her in a robe Gm He found her a place on the side of the hill A7 And he buried her in the snow
[VERSE 9:]
Dm Early in the spring he was seen in the town F With his load, looking ragged and thin Dm Not a year had gone by when he stood once again A7 Dm In the government store down in Cherokee Bend
[VERSE 10:]
Dm He was ten years tall and a Redskin too F So he hadn't much face to save Dm And the men sat around and they laughed and they clowned A7 At the talk of a criminal's grave
[VERSE 11:]
Dm Then the man from the east didn't smile when he said F "You're the son of that Indian scum Dm If you value your hide then you better abide A7 Dm By the white man's rules, here in Cherokee Bend"
[CHORUS:]
Gm Daddy didn't like what the white man said A7 'Bout the dirty little kid at his side Gm Daddy didn't like what the white man did A7 Nor the deal or the way that he lied
[VERSE 12:]
Dm Then he spit on the floor of the government store F And it served him to no good end Dm At the close of the day they had taken him away A7 Dm To the white man's school down in Cherokee Bend
[VERSE 13:]
Dm It's been 21 years since the boy disappeared F Where he run to, nobody knows Dm But they say he fell in with a man named Jim A7 And he rides in the rodeos
[VERSE 14:]
Dm They say he returned all alone to a place F Hidden deep in the Kentucky glen Dm And it's pretty well known who hauled up the stone A7 Dm To the grave on the hill above Cherokee Bend
[CHORUS:]
Gm Daddy didn't like what the white man said A7 'Bout the dirty little kid at his side Gm Daddy didn't like what the white man did A7 Nor the deal or the way that he lied
[VERSE 15:]
Dm There was blood on the floor of the government store F When the men took his daddy away Dm It was 1910 and they never had a friend A7 Dm When he died by the rope down at Cherokee Bend Dm It was 1910 and they never had a friend A7 Dm When he died by the rope down at Cherokee Bend