Chords for Chairmen Of The Board - Patches

_ _ _ I was born and raised down [D#m] in Alabama, _ on a farm way back [D#] up in the woods.
_ _ I was so ragged folks [E] called me Patches.
Papa used to tease me about it, but [G#] _ inside he was [C#m] hurting folks.
He'd done all he [D#m] could.
[F#] My papa, what a great old [E] man!
I can see him with his shovel in his [F#] hand, see, _ education that he never [E] had.
What he did won was many times got [D#m] bent, but [F#] little money from the crops he [E] raised.
He barely paid the bills he made.
[B] Old life had [D] whipped him down to the [E] ground and when he tried to get up, [B] life would take him back down.
And that day, papa called [D] me to his nine [E] beds, placed his hands on my [B] shoulders, and in tears he said,
_ _ Patches, I'm depending [D#m] on you son, to pull the [B] family through.
_ My son is [E] all left _ up to you.
_ [G#] _ _ _ _ [C#m] _ _ _
_ [F#] _ Two days later, papa passed [C#m] away, [E] and I became a man that day.
[F#] So, I told ma I wanted to quit school, [E] _ but she said that was daddy's strictest rule.
[F#] So, every morning before I went to [E] school, I fed the chickens and I chopped wood.
_ [B] Sometimes I felt [D] like I couldn't go on.
[E] I wanted to leave, [B] just want to wake up home.
And I remember [D] what daddy [E] said in tears, in his [B] eyes, on his dying bed.
_ _ Patches, I'm depending [D#m] on you son.
I tried to [F#m] do my best.
It's up to [E] you to _ do your _ [G#] best.
_ _ _ [C#m] _ _ [F#] _
_ [B] _ _ Patches, I'm depending [D#m] on you son.
I tried to do [F#m] my best.
It's up to you [E] to do your best.
_ [G#] _ _ _ [C#m] _ _ _ [F#] _
_ [B] _ _ _ One day a strong [D#m] rain came _ and washed all the crops away.
[B] _ _ _ At the age of 13, I felt like I was [E] carrying the weight of the whole [G#] world on my shoulders.
And [C#m] mama knew what I was going [F#] through.
Because every day I had to work the [E] fields.
It was the only way we got our [F#] meals.
See, I was the oldest of the family.
_ [E] _ _ Everybody else depended on me.
[F#] _ Every night I heard my mama pray, [C#m] Lord [E] give me strength to face another [B] day.
Yeah, so as [D] _ everybody's gone, [E] my mama is resting [B] in a little pine tree.
Oh Lord knows, _ [D] _ I'm sweating [E] tears and my daddy's voice [B] can never do him good.
_ _ Patches, I'm depending [D#m] on you son.
To pull the [F#m] family through.
_ My son is [E] all left up to you.
_ [G#] _ What would a [C#m] gun god would [C#]
say?
[B] _ _ Patches, I'm depending [D#m] on you son.
I tried to [F#m] do my best.
_ It's up [E] to you to _ do the _ [G#] best.
I can [C#m] still hear him [C#] _
saying, [B] _ Patches, I'm depending [D#m] on you son. _ _ _ _
_ [F#m] _ _ _ _ _ _ [F#] _
_ [E] _ _ _ _ _ [N] _ _