Michael Martin Murphey – The Christmas Trail (Guitar)

    C                            F                C
The wind is blowin cold down the mountain tips of snow

                                     G
And 'cross the ranges lyin brown and dead

     C                                   F              C
It's cryin through the valley trees that wear the mistletoe

                      G               C
And mournin' with the grey clouds overhead

         F              G          C             Am
Yet it's sweet with the beat of my little horses feet

      F                G               C
And I whistle like the air is warm and blue

        F            G                  C        Am    Am/G
For I'm ridin up the christmas trail to you, old folks

    F            G                  C
I'm ridin up the christmas trail to you

   C                          F             C
Oh maybe it was good when the whinny of the spring

                                G
Had wheeled me to hoppin of the bars

    C                        F               C
And livin in the shadow of a sailin buzzards wing

                 G               C
And sleepin underneath a roof of stars

        F               G          C            Am
But the bright campfire light only dances for a night

          F                  G              C
While the home fire burns forever clear and true

   F                G              C        Am   Am/G
So round the year I circle back to you, old folks

        F            G                  C
And I'm ridin up the christmas trail to you

   D                        G              D
Oh maybe it was good at the roundup in the fall

                                         A
When the clouds of bawlin dust before us ran

        D                                G            D
And the pride of rope and saddle was the drivin of us all

                          A             D
To a stretch of nerve and muscle man to man

        G           A             D       D/C#  Bm
But the pride sorta died when the man got weary eyed

      G              A                    D
Was a sleepy boy who rode the night guard through

       G                A               D    D/C# D/B   D/A
And he dreamed himself along a trail to you, old  folks

           G              A                  D
Dreamed himself along the Christmas trail to you

    D                            G               D
The coyotes winter howl cuts the dusk behind the hill

                                    A
And the ranch's shinin window I can see

    D                               G            D
And though I don't deserve it and I reckon never will

                            A             D
There'll be room beside the fire kept for me

         G               A            D       D/C#     Bm
Skimp my plate cause I'm late, let me hit the old home gate

      G                   A            D
For tonight I'm stumblin' tired of the new

       G            A                  D    D/C# D/B   D/A
So I'm ridin up the Christmas trail to you, old  folks

    G            A                  D
I'm ridin up the Christmas trail to you

    G            A                  D    D/C# D/B   D/A
I'm ridin up the Christmas trail to you, old folks

    G            A                  D
I'm ridin up the Christmas trail to you