Chords for James Taylor - Sweet Baby James (Words And Music: American Stories, Apr 2, 1994)

This is Sweet Baby James.
It's a song written in two sort of separate _ episodes,
both behind the wheel of a car.
Let's see, I think both in 1969. _ _ _
The first verse and _ chorus were written on a trip from _ _ Martha's Vineyard in Massachusetts
down to Chapel Hill, North Carolina, where my family was living at the time. _
And my older brother Alex and his wife Brent had just had a baby and named it after me,
little James, young James. _ _
So as I was driving down the East Coast,
I wrote a song for him, a sort of a lullaby.
I figured a cowboy song would be nice. _
_ _ _ And then the second verse, the second half of the song was written on a trip from,
I was visiting Arlo Guthrie up [G] in Stockbridge, Massachusetts, in the western part of Massachusetts,
and I was driving back to Boston.
_ And as the song says, _ I was on the turnpike from Stockbridge to Boston,
driving out of the Berkshires _ when the snow started to fall.
_ _ _ And the song sort of came [Gm] down with the snow, I guess.
_ _ [Ab] So here's the song for, the first half of which is for young James [Em] Richmond Taylor,
and the second half of which is a lullaby to [Eb] myself. _ _
_ [F] _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ [Eb] _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _
[Ab] _ _ _ _ [Fm] _ _
[Bb] _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _
There is a young [Bb] cowboy, _ [Ab]
lives on the [Gm] range, _ _
_ [Cm] His horse and [Ab] his cattle, [Eb] they're his only [Gm] companions.
_ _ _ [Cm] He works in [Ab] his saddle [Eb] and he sleeps in the [Gm] canyons,
Just [Ab] waiting [Eb] for summer, his [Bb] pastures to [Fm] change. _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ [Ab] And as the moon rises, he sits [Eb] by his fire,
[Cm] Just a-thinking [Ab] about women [Eb] and glasses [Bb] of beer.
_ [Ab] _
Clothes in his [F] eyes as the _ [Eb] doggies retire,
[Cm] He sings out [Ab] a song which [Eb] is soft but it's clear,
[Cm] Just as if maybe [F] someone could [Bb] hear.
_ [F] _ _ _ [Bb] _ _
_ _ [Eb] He says, goodnight all you _ [Fm] moonlight _
[Eb] ladies,
_ [Cm] Rock-a [Ab]-bye sweet [Eb] baby James,
_ _ _ [Cm] Deep greens [Ab] and blues for [Eb] the colors I choose,
[Cm] Won't you let me [F] go down in my [Bb] _ dreams,
_ _ [Fm] Yes and rock-a-bye [Bb] sweet [Eb] baby James,
_ _ Now the first of [Bb] December was [Ab] covered [Gm] with snow, _ _ _
Yes and [Cm] so was [Ab] the turnpike [Eb] from Stockbridge [Gm] to Boston, _
_ Now [Cm] the Berkshires they seem [Ab] dreamlike [Eb] on account of that [Gm] frosting,
_ [Ab] With ten miles [Eb] behind me, [Bb] ten [Fm] thousand more to go, you know.
[F] _ _ _ [Bb] _ [Ab] There's a song that they sing when [Fm] they take to [Eb] the highway,
[Cm] A song that they [Ab] sing when [Eb] they take to the [Bb] sea, _
[Ab] A song that they sing of [F] their home in the [Eb] sky,
[Cm] Maybe you can't [Ab] believe it [Eb] if it helps you to sleep,
[Cm] But singing seems [F] to work fine [Bb] with me, _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _
[Eb] So goodnight all you _ [Fm] moonlight _ _ [Eb] ladies, _
[Cm] Rock-a [Ab]-bye sweet [Eb] baby James, _ _ _
[Cm] Deep greens [Ab] and blues for [Eb] the colors I choose,
[Cm] Won't you let me [F] go down in [Bb] my dreams,
[C] _ Oh, _ _ _ [Fm] rock-a [Bb]-bye sweet [Eb] baby James.
_ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _