Chords for Dave Alvin - "Johnny Ace is Dead" - Live at Daryl's House Club 4.22.17

_ Now back in the early 1950s, before any of you were born,
there was a young, handsome, _ very charismatic,
extremely talented rhythm and blues singer
from Memphis, Tennessee named Johnny Ace.
And Johnny Ace started having hit records around 1951.
_ _ He was huge, man.
_ _ He went from being Bobby Blue Bland's piano player
to being a star in his own right
and up the back streets of Memphis
and onto the Golden Road of the Chitlin Circuit.
Long Cadillacs and tight dresses slid up the hair.
_ Now most men _ would have been satisfied with that.
_ _ _ I'm simple.
_ But Johnny Ace was complicated. _
_ _ Every night before he'd go on stage,
_ _ he would invite some ladies backstage,
which is always a good idea.
_ I was gonna do it tonight,
but I ate too much at the diner down there.
_ And so when Johnny Ace would get the ladies backstage,
he'd get them a cocktail. _ _
And as they were enjoying their drink,
he'd pull out a .22
caliber pistol,
remove five bullets, leave one in,
spin the chamber, put it up to his temple,
and pull the trigger. _ _ _ _
Night from _ _ _ _ _ _ 1951 onwards.
_ _ Now we've all done that. _ _ _ _
Once or twice, but he did it night after night after night
_ until Christmas night, 1954,
in Houston, Texas on a coal bill
_ with Big Mama Thornton
when _ things didn't go quite as planned
and that's where this song I wrote started.
[Fm] _ _
_ [Bb] _ _ _ [Cm] _ [Ab] _ [Bb] _ _
_ [Fm] _ _ _ [Bb] _ [Fm] _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
[Bb] _ [F] _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Out in Houston, Texas on a Christmas night
with a gun in his hand
and in fame of many lives
he was young and handsome,
the prince of the blues
in a shark skin suit.
Now let's get a shoot.
He would run to the women who had come backstage
and he said,
ladies wanna see me play a wild little game?
But Big Mama Thornton said,
go sing a song for that damn gun down poor.
Something goes [Bb] wrong.
Big Mama cried.
_ Dear Lord, Big Mama [F] said,
_ _ _ he [Bb] put a .22
pistol _ _ right up to his head
[F] _ _ _ _ and [C] he smiled at the ladies.
_ _ _ [A] _
[Bb] _ _ _ Now Johnny is a dead,
[Ab] _ [F] _ _ [Bb] _ [Fm] _ _
_ [Bb] _ [Fm] _ _ _ [Bb] _ [Ab] [F] you know, band leader said,
his saxophone down said,
I think I'm gonna split the whole,
the cops come around
while the crowd in the theater's slowin'.
They've been away with their heads hung low,
not sure what to say,
but Slick gone wrote a record,
Company Man with big diamond rings
on both his hands said,
I'm gonna send him home to Memphis
in a refrigerated truck.
Johnny, he's gonna make me a million bucks.
[Bb] Yeah, Big Mama cried.
Dear Lord, Big Mama [F] said,
he [Bb] _ [Fm] _
[Bb] put a .22
pistol _ _ right up to his head
[F] and _ _ _ [C]
he smiled at the ladies. _ _ _ _
[Bb] _ _ _ Now Johnny [Fm] is a dead. _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ [F] _ _
[Bb] _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
[F] _ _ _ _ _ _ [B] _ _
[C] _ _ _ [Fm] _ _ _ _ _
_ _ [F] _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ [Fm] _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ [N] Well, well, well, _ _
when Johnny Ace got back home to Memphis, [Fm] Tennessee, _
everyone on [Ab] Beale Street came out to see,
you know, there were pimps.
_ _ _ It's a small town.
Work gets around, brother. _ _ _ _
_ _ _ And hustlers, _ _
_ _ _ [Fm] _ husbands, _ _
_ _ _ [Bbm] and wives,
[C] _ _
_ _ _ and women, women, women, women, [Fm] women, women, women, _ _ _ _ _
and old and young, young and old,
all came to [C] say,
_ _ _ _ [Ab] _
farewell, Johnny Ace, _ _ _ _ [F] goodbye. _ _ _ _ _ _ _
[Fm] _ _ _ _ _ _ [F] As the choir sang and the preachers prayed,
5,000 mourners watched him to his grave.
Well, well, well, there may be a heaven there.
Maybe a hell, no one knows for sure,
but right now Johnny Ace knows damn [Bb] well.
Big Mama cried.
_ _ Dear Lord, Big Mama [Fm] said,
_ _ _ he put [Bb] a .22
pistol _ _ right up to his head
[F] _ and _ [C] _
he smiled at the ladies.
_ _ _ [A] _
[Bb] _ _ But now [Eb] Johnny [F] Ace is dead.
[Fm] _ _ [F] _ _ _ _ [Fm] _ _ _ _ _ _ [F] _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
[Fm] _ _ _ _ _ _ _ [F] _
_ _ [Bb] _ [Ab] _ [F] _ _ [Bb] _ [Fm] _
[C] _ _ [Bb] _ [Fm] _ _ _ [Bb] _ [Eb] _
_ _ [Bb] _ [Fm] _ _ [Eb] _ [Bb] _ [Ab] _
_ [Eb] _ _ [Fm] _ _ _ [Bb] _ [Fm] _
_ _ _ _ _ _ [Ab] _ _
_ [F] _ _ [Db] _ _ _ _ [F] _
_ _ [N] _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _