Misc Traditional – Blood On The Risers (Guitar)

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Chords

Sung in the tune of "The Battle Hymn of the Republic" [Verse 1]
        G                            G7               G7/B
He was just a rookie trooper and he surely shook with fright,

   C                                  G                 D7
He checked all his equipment and made sure his pack was tight;

    G             G7               B7            Em
He had to sit and listen to those awful engines roar,

     Am          D4   D  G
"You ain't gonna jump no more!"
[Chorus]
G                   G7             G7/B   C      C7          G              G7
Gory, gory, what a hell of a way to die! Gory, gory, what a hell of a way to die.

G      G7/F         B7/D#           Em       Am          D4  D   G
Gory, gory, what a hell of a way to die,  He ain't gonna jump no more!
[Verse 2]
    G                           G7               G7/B
"Is everybody happy?" cried the Sergeant looking up,

     C                               G                  D7
Our Hero feebly answered "Yes," and then they stood him up;

    G              G7              B7            Em
He jumped into the icy blast, his static line unhooked,

        Am         D4  D   G
And he ain't gonna jump no more.
[Chorus]
G                   G7             G7/B   C      C7          G              G7
Gory, gory, what a hell of a way to die! Gory, gory, what a hell of a way to die.

G      G7/F         B7/D#           Em       Am          D4  D   G
Gory, gory, what a hell of a way to die,  He ain't gonna jump no more!
[Verse 3]
    G                                 G7            G7/B
He counted long, he counted loud, he waited for the shock,

    C                                  G               D7
He felt the wind, he felt the cold, he felt the awful drop,

     G               G7                     B7                Em
The silk from his reserves spilled out, and wrapped around his legs,

       Am          D4  D   G
And he ain't gonna jump no more.
[Chorus]
G                   G7             G7/B   C      C7          G              G7
Gory, gory, what a hell of a way to die! Gory, gory, what a hell of a way to die.

G      G7/F         B7/D#           Em       Am          D4  D   G
Gory, gory, what a hell of a way to die,  He ain't gonna jump no more!
[Verse 4]
     G                                G7                 G7/B
The risers swung around his neck, connectors cracked his dome,

    C                                G                D7
Suspension lines were tied in knots around his skinny bones;

      G       G7                 B7              Em
The canopy became his shroud; he hurtled to the ground

       Am          D4  D   G
And he ain't gonna jump no more.
[Chorus]
G                   G7             G7/B   C      C7          G              G7
Gory, gory, what a hell of a way to die! Gory, gory, what a hell of a way to die.

G      G7/F         B7/D#           Em       Am          D4  D   G
Gory, gory, what a hell of a way to die,  He ain't gonna jump no more!
[Verse 5]
     G                                         G7                 G7/B
The days he'd lived and loved and laughed kept running through his mind,

    C                                    G               D7
He thought about the girl back home, the one he'd left behind;

    G                G7              B7                  Em
He thought about the medics, and He wondered what they'd find,

       Am          D4  D   G
And he ain't gonna jump no more.
[Chorus]
G                   G7             G7/B   C      C7          G              G7
Gory, gory, what a hell of a way to die! Gory, gory, what a hell of a way to die.

G      G7/F         B7/D#           Em       Am          D4  D   G
Gory, gory, what a hell of a way to die,  He ain't gonna jump no more!
[Verse 6]
    G                               G7               G7/B
The ambulance was on the spot, the jeeps were running wild,

     C                                         G                        D7
The medics jumped and screamed with glee, they rolled their sleeves and smiled,

     G               G7               B7                Em
For it had been a week or more since last a 'Chute had failed,

        Am         D4  D   G
And he ain't gonna jump no more.
[Chorus]
G                   G7             G7/B   C      C7          G              G7
Gory, gory, what a hell of a way to die! Gory, gory, what a hell of a way to die.

G      G7/F         B7/D#           Em       Am          D4  D   G
Gory, gory, what a hell of a way to die,  He ain't gonna jump no more!
[Verse 7]
    G                                         G7                 G7/B
He hit the ground, the sound was "SPLAT", his blood went spurting high;

     C                                G                  D7
His comrades, they were heard to say "A HELL OF A WAY TO DIE!"

    G                  G7           B7            Em
He lay there, rolling 'round in the welter of his gore,

       Am          D4  D   G
And he ain't gonna jump no more.
[Chorus]
G                   G7             G7/B   C      C7          G              G7
Gory, gory, what a hell of a way to die! Gory, gory, what a hell of a way to die.

G      G7/F         B7/D#           Em       Am          D4  D   G
Gory, gory, what a hell of a way to die,  He ain't gonna jump no more!
[Verse 8, solemnly (half speed of other verses)]
          G                                 G7              G7/B
There was blood upon the risers, there were brains upon the chute,

   C                                G            D7
Intestines were a-dangling from his paratroopers suit,

    G                G7                B7                  Em
He was a mess, they picked him up, and poured him from his boots,

       Am          D4  D   G
And he ain't gonna jump no more.
[Chorus, solemnly (half speed of other verses)]
G                   G7             G7/B   C      C7          G              G7
Gory, gory, what a hell of a way to die! Gory, gory, what a hell of a way to die.

G      G7/F         B7/D#           Em       Am          D4  D   G
Gory, gory, what a hell of a way to die,  He ain't gonna jump no more!