Grateful Dead – Stagger Lee (Guitar)

Key
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Versions (3)

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Chords

(Garcia/Hunter) [Intro] C D E
F C   Bb   F           Bb
1940, Xmas eve, with a full moon over town

F       C       Bb      F
Stagger Lee met Billy DeLion

       Bb
And he blew that poor boy down.

F      C            Bb       F
Do you know what he shot him for?

     Bb                   (Bb A Ab)
What do you make of that?

      G
Cause Billy DeLion threw lucky dice

    A
Won Stagger Lee's Stetson hat.
Riff
C  D   C  D   G                         C  G
Bayou, Bayou, tell me how can this be?

      G                  C       G
You arrest the girls for turning tricks

                     C       D   C
But you're scared of Stagger Lee.

G                C  G                  C     D
Stagger Lee is a madman and he shot my Billy D.

C            G      C               D   (C G C D)
Bayou go get him or give the job to me.

C   D  C    D     G               C  G
Delia DeLions, oh sweet Delia-D

 G                  C       G                 C      D    C 
How the hell can I arrest him? He's twice as big as me.

       G              C       G                 C     D   
Well don't ask me to go downtown, I won't come back alive

      C                  G           C       D   (C G C D)
Not only is that mother big but he packs a .45 

F   C   Bb   F      Bb
Bayou, Delia said, just give me a gun

F            C    Bb   F        Bb
He shot my Billy dead now I'm gonna see him hung.

F       C          Bb        F          Bb                (Bb A Ab)
She went into the DeLion's club through Billy DeLions blood

   G
Stepped up to Stagger Lee at the bar,

        A     
Said, "Buy me a gin fizz, love."

C     D        C      D               G                     C  G
As Stagger Lee lit a cigarette she shot him in the balls

 G                        C  G                       C    D    C 
Blew the smoke off her revolver, had him dragged to city hall

 G       C  G            C     D   
Bayou, Bayou, see you hang him high

C            G      C                      D   (C G C D)
He shot my Billy dead and now he's got to die.

D    C D        C        G                     C  G
Delia went a walking down on Singapore Street

 G                          C     G               C      D    C 
A three-piece band on the corner played "Near My God to Thee"

 G                     C         G                C     D  
But Delia whistled a different tune, what tune could it be?

C                     G                 C       D   (C G C D)
The song that woman sung was "Look Out Stagger Lee".

C                     G                 C       D   (C G C D)
The song that Delia sung was "Look Out Stagger Lee".