Chords for John Prine on Austin City Limits "Jesus: The Missing Years" (1992)
Tempo:
72.9 bpm
Chords used:
C
F
G
D
Eb
Tuning:Standard Tuning (EADGBE)Capo:+0fret
Start Jamming...
Thank you.
[C]
I got the idea for this song, I guess somebody was telling me at a party once, a couple of years back.
I don't know how we got around to this conversation, but somebody started telling me that there
was all these missing years in the life of Jesus.
He was missing from the time he was 12 until he was 30.
And I said, you mean like nobody knew where he was?
And he said, [N] nobody.
So that kind of like stuck in the back of my mind, you know, nobody, one of the most
influential and controversial figures in the history of mankind.
Nobody knows where he was for 18 years.
I snuck away on a fishing trip once with his waitress for a couple of days.
And by the time we got back to Nashville, everybody knew where [Cm] we were.
[C]
Jesus, the missing years.
It was raining, it was cold.
[F]
West Bethlehem was no place for a 12 year old.
So he packed his bag and he headed [G] out to find out what the [C] world's about.
He went to France, he went to Spain.
[F] He found love, he found pain.
[G] He found stores, so he started to shop.
But he had no money, so he got in trouble [C] with a cop.
Kids in trouble with the cops from Israel didn't have no home.
[F] So he cut his hair and he moved to Rome.
[G] It was there he met his Irish bride.
And they rented a flat on the Lower East Side [C] of Rome.
[F] Italy, that is.
[G] Music publishers, bookbinders, bible belters, money changers, spoon benders,
and lots [D] of pretty [C] Italian chicks.
Charlie bought some popcorn, [F] Billy bought a car.
[G] Someone almost bought the farm, but they didn't go [C] that far.
And things shut down at midnight, [F] at least around here they do.
[G] Because we all reside down the block inside at [C] 23, skidoo.
Wine was flowing, so were beers.
[F] So Jesus found his missing years.
[G] He went to a dance and said, this don't move me.
So he hacked up his pants and he went to [C] a movie.
On his 13th birthday he saw Rebel Without a Cause.
[D] [F] He went straight on home and invented Santa Claus.
[G] Who gave him a gift and he responded in kind.
He gave the gift of love and went out of his [C] man.
You see, him and the wife wasn't getting along.
[F]
So he took out his guitar and he wrote a song.
[G] Called the dove of love fell off the perch.
But he couldn't get divorced from the Catholic [C] Church.
At [F] least not back then anyhow.
[G] Jesus was a good guy.
[C] He didn't need [D] this.
[F] So he took a pill with a bag of peanuts and a Coca-Cola and he swallowed it.
[G] He discovered the Beatles.
He recorded with the Stones.
Once he even opened up a three-way package in Southern California for old George [C] Jones.
Charlie bought some popcorn.
[F] Billy bought a car.
[Gm] [G] Someone almost bought the farm.
But they [Eb] didn't go [C] that far.
Things shut down at midnight.
[F] At least around here they do.
[G] Cause we all reside down the block inside of [Bm] [C] 23's good do.
The years went by like sweet little [F] days.
With babies crying pork chops and [G] Beaujolais.
When he woke up he was 17.
The world was angry.
The world was [C] mean.
While the man down the street and the kid on the [F] stoop.
All agreed to life stank.
The whole world smelled like [G] poop.
Baby poop that is.
[C] The worst kind.
So he grew his hair long and threw away his [F] comb.
Headed back to Jerusalem to find mom, dad and home.
[G] But when he got there the cupboard was bare.
Except for an old black man with a fishing rod.
He said what are you going to be when you grow up?
Jesus said [C] God.
Oh my God what have [F] I got myself into?
I'm a human corkscrew.
All my wine is blood.
They're going to kill [G] me mama.
They don't like me bud.
[C] So Jesus went to heaven.
[F] And he went there awful quick.
[G] All them people killed him.
And he wasn't even [C] sick.
So come and gather around me.
[F]
My contemporary peers.
[G] I'll tell you all the story of Jesus.
[C] The missing years.
Charlie bought some popcorn.
[F] Billy bought a car.
[G] Someone almost bought the farm.
But they didn't [C] go that far.
Things shut down at midnight.
[F] At least around here they do.
[G] Cause we all reside down the block inside.
[C] 23 Skidoo.
[G] We all reside down the block inside.
[C] 23 [F] Skidoo.
[C] [Eb] [N] Thank you.
[C]
I got the idea for this song, I guess somebody was telling me at a party once, a couple of years back.
I don't know how we got around to this conversation, but somebody started telling me that there
was all these missing years in the life of Jesus.
He was missing from the time he was 12 until he was 30.
And I said, you mean like nobody knew where he was?
And he said, [N] nobody.
So that kind of like stuck in the back of my mind, you know, nobody, one of the most
influential and controversial figures in the history of mankind.
Nobody knows where he was for 18 years.
I snuck away on a fishing trip once with his waitress for a couple of days.
And by the time we got back to Nashville, everybody knew where [Cm] we were.
[C]
Jesus, the missing years.
It was raining, it was cold.
[F]
West Bethlehem was no place for a 12 year old.
So he packed his bag and he headed [G] out to find out what the [C] world's about.
He went to France, he went to Spain.
[F] He found love, he found pain.
[G] He found stores, so he started to shop.
But he had no money, so he got in trouble [C] with a cop.
Kids in trouble with the cops from Israel didn't have no home.
[F] So he cut his hair and he moved to Rome.
[G] It was there he met his Irish bride.
And they rented a flat on the Lower East Side [C] of Rome.
[F] Italy, that is.
[G] Music publishers, bookbinders, bible belters, money changers, spoon benders,
and lots [D] of pretty [C] Italian chicks.
Charlie bought some popcorn, [F] Billy bought a car.
[G] Someone almost bought the farm, but they didn't go [C] that far.
And things shut down at midnight, [F] at least around here they do.
[G] Because we all reside down the block inside at [C] 23, skidoo.
Wine was flowing, so were beers.
[F] So Jesus found his missing years.
[G] He went to a dance and said, this don't move me.
So he hacked up his pants and he went to [C] a movie.
On his 13th birthday he saw Rebel Without a Cause.
[D] [F] He went straight on home and invented Santa Claus.
[G] Who gave him a gift and he responded in kind.
He gave the gift of love and went out of his [C] man.
You see, him and the wife wasn't getting along.
[F]
So he took out his guitar and he wrote a song.
[G] Called the dove of love fell off the perch.
But he couldn't get divorced from the Catholic [C] Church.
At [F] least not back then anyhow.
[G] Jesus was a good guy.
[C] He didn't need [D] this.
[F] So he took a pill with a bag of peanuts and a Coca-Cola and he swallowed it.
[G] He discovered the Beatles.
He recorded with the Stones.
Once he even opened up a three-way package in Southern California for old George [C] Jones.
Charlie bought some popcorn.
[F] Billy bought a car.
[Gm] [G] Someone almost bought the farm.
But they [Eb] didn't go [C] that far.
Things shut down at midnight.
[F] At least around here they do.
[G] Cause we all reside down the block inside of [Bm] [C] 23's good do.
The years went by like sweet little [F] days.
With babies crying pork chops and [G] Beaujolais.
When he woke up he was 17.
The world was angry.
The world was [C] mean.
While the man down the street and the kid on the [F] stoop.
All agreed to life stank.
The whole world smelled like [G] poop.
Baby poop that is.
[C] The worst kind.
So he grew his hair long and threw away his [F] comb.
Headed back to Jerusalem to find mom, dad and home.
[G] But when he got there the cupboard was bare.
Except for an old black man with a fishing rod.
He said what are you going to be when you grow up?
Jesus said [C] God.
Oh my God what have [F] I got myself into?
I'm a human corkscrew.
All my wine is blood.
They're going to kill [G] me mama.
They don't like me bud.
[C] So Jesus went to heaven.
[F] And he went there awful quick.
[G] All them people killed him.
And he wasn't even [C] sick.
So come and gather around me.
[F]
My contemporary peers.
[G] I'll tell you all the story of Jesus.
[C] The missing years.
Charlie bought some popcorn.
[F] Billy bought a car.
[G] Someone almost bought the farm.
But they didn't [C] go that far.
Things shut down at midnight.
[F] At least around here they do.
[G] Cause we all reside down the block inside.
[C] 23 Skidoo.
[G] We all reside down the block inside.
[C] 23 [F] Skidoo.
[C] [Eb] [N] Thank you.
Key:
C
F
G
D
Eb
C
F
G
_ Thank you.
_ _ [C] _
I got the idea for this song, I guess somebody was telling me at a party once, a couple of years back.
I don't know how we got around to this conversation, but somebody started telling me that there
was all these missing years in the life of Jesus.
He was missing from the time he was 12 until he was 30. _
And I said, you mean like nobody knew where he was?
And he said, [N] nobody. _
_ _ So that kind of like stuck in the back of my mind, you know, nobody, one of the most
influential and controversial figures in the history of mankind.
Nobody knows where he was for 18 years.
I snuck away on a fishing trip once with his waitress for a couple of days.
And by the time we got back to Nashville, everybody knew where [Cm] we were.
_ _ _ [C] _ _ _
Jesus, the missing years. _ _ _ _ _
_ _ It was raining, it was cold.
[F]
West Bethlehem was no place for a 12 year old.
_ So he packed his bag and he headed [G] out to find out what the [C] world's about.
_ _ He went to France, he went to Spain.
[F] He found love, he found pain.
[G] He found stores, so he started to shop.
But he had no money, so he got in trouble [C] with a cop. _ _
Kids in trouble with the cops from Israel didn't have no home.
[F] So he cut his hair and he moved to Rome.
[G] It was there he met his Irish bride.
And they rented a flat on the Lower East Side [C] of Rome.
_ _ [F] Italy, that is. _
[G] Music publishers, bookbinders, bible belters, money changers, spoon benders,
and lots [D] of pretty [C] Italian chicks. _ _ _
Charlie bought some popcorn, [F] Billy bought a car.
[G] Someone almost bought the farm, but they didn't go [C] that far.
And things shut down at midnight, [F] at least around here they do.
[G] Because we all reside down the block inside at [C] 23, skidoo.
_ _ Wine was flowing, so were beers.
[F] So Jesus found his missing years.
[G] He went to a dance and said, this don't move me.
So he hacked up his pants and he went to [C] a movie.
_ _ On his 13th birthday he saw Rebel Without a Cause.
[D] [F] He went straight on home and invented Santa Claus.
_ [G] Who gave him a gift and he responded in kind.
He gave the gift of love and went out of his [C] man.
_ You see, him and the wife wasn't getting along.
[F]
So he took out his guitar and he wrote a song.
[G] Called the dove of love fell off the perch.
But he couldn't get divorced from the Catholic [C] Church.
At [F] least not back then anyhow. _
_ [G] _ Jesus was a good guy.
[C] He didn't need [D] this.
[F] So he took a pill with a bag of peanuts and a Coca-Cola and he swallowed it.
[G] He discovered the Beatles.
He recorded with the Stones.
Once he even opened up a three-way package in Southern California for old George [C] Jones.
_ _ Charlie bought some popcorn.
[F] Billy bought a car.
[Gm] [G] Someone almost bought the farm.
But they [Eb] didn't go [C] that far.
Things shut down at midnight.
[F] At least around here they do.
[G] Cause we all reside down the block inside of [Bm] [C] 23's good do.
_ _ The years went by like sweet little [F] days.
With babies crying pork chops and [G] Beaujolais.
When he woke up he was 17.
The world was angry.
The world was [C] mean.
_ While the man down the street and the kid on the [F] stoop.
All agreed to life stank.
The whole world smelled like [G] poop.
Baby poop that is.
[C] The worst kind. _ _ _
So he grew his hair long and threw away his [F] comb.
Headed back to Jerusalem to find mom, dad and home.
[G] But when he got there the cupboard was bare.
Except for an old black man with a fishing rod.
He said what are you going to be when you grow up?
Jesus said [C] God.
_ Oh my God what have [F] I got myself into?
I'm a human corkscrew.
All my wine is blood.
They're going to kill [G] me mama.
They don't like me bud.
[C] _ _ _ _ So Jesus went to heaven.
[F] And he went there awful quick.
[G] All them people killed him.
And he wasn't even [C] sick.
So come and gather around me.
[F]
My contemporary peers.
[G] I'll tell you all the story of Jesus. _
[C] The missing years.
_ _ _ Charlie bought some popcorn. _
[F] Billy bought a car.
[G] Someone almost bought the farm.
But they didn't [C] go that far.
Things shut down at midnight.
[F] At least around here they do.
[G] Cause we all reside down the block inside.
[C] 23 Skidoo.
_ [G] We all reside down the block inside.
[C] 23 [F] Skidoo.
[C] _ _ _ _ _ [Eb] [N] Thank you.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ [C] _
I got the idea for this song, I guess somebody was telling me at a party once, a couple of years back.
I don't know how we got around to this conversation, but somebody started telling me that there
was all these missing years in the life of Jesus.
He was missing from the time he was 12 until he was 30. _
And I said, you mean like nobody knew where he was?
And he said, [N] nobody. _
_ _ So that kind of like stuck in the back of my mind, you know, nobody, one of the most
influential and controversial figures in the history of mankind.
Nobody knows where he was for 18 years.
I snuck away on a fishing trip once with his waitress for a couple of days.
And by the time we got back to Nashville, everybody knew where [Cm] we were.
_ _ _ [C] _ _ _
Jesus, the missing years. _ _ _ _ _
_ _ It was raining, it was cold.
[F]
West Bethlehem was no place for a 12 year old.
_ So he packed his bag and he headed [G] out to find out what the [C] world's about.
_ _ He went to France, he went to Spain.
[F] He found love, he found pain.
[G] He found stores, so he started to shop.
But he had no money, so he got in trouble [C] with a cop. _ _
Kids in trouble with the cops from Israel didn't have no home.
[F] So he cut his hair and he moved to Rome.
[G] It was there he met his Irish bride.
And they rented a flat on the Lower East Side [C] of Rome.
_ _ [F] Italy, that is. _
[G] Music publishers, bookbinders, bible belters, money changers, spoon benders,
and lots [D] of pretty [C] Italian chicks. _ _ _
Charlie bought some popcorn, [F] Billy bought a car.
[G] Someone almost bought the farm, but they didn't go [C] that far.
And things shut down at midnight, [F] at least around here they do.
[G] Because we all reside down the block inside at [C] 23, skidoo.
_ _ Wine was flowing, so were beers.
[F] So Jesus found his missing years.
[G] He went to a dance and said, this don't move me.
So he hacked up his pants and he went to [C] a movie.
_ _ On his 13th birthday he saw Rebel Without a Cause.
[D] [F] He went straight on home and invented Santa Claus.
_ [G] Who gave him a gift and he responded in kind.
He gave the gift of love and went out of his [C] man.
_ You see, him and the wife wasn't getting along.
[F]
So he took out his guitar and he wrote a song.
[G] Called the dove of love fell off the perch.
But he couldn't get divorced from the Catholic [C] Church.
At [F] least not back then anyhow. _
_ [G] _ Jesus was a good guy.
[C] He didn't need [D] this.
[F] So he took a pill with a bag of peanuts and a Coca-Cola and he swallowed it.
[G] He discovered the Beatles.
He recorded with the Stones.
Once he even opened up a three-way package in Southern California for old George [C] Jones.
_ _ Charlie bought some popcorn.
[F] Billy bought a car.
[Gm] [G] Someone almost bought the farm.
But they [Eb] didn't go [C] that far.
Things shut down at midnight.
[F] At least around here they do.
[G] Cause we all reside down the block inside of [Bm] [C] 23's good do.
_ _ The years went by like sweet little [F] days.
With babies crying pork chops and [G] Beaujolais.
When he woke up he was 17.
The world was angry.
The world was [C] mean.
_ While the man down the street and the kid on the [F] stoop.
All agreed to life stank.
The whole world smelled like [G] poop.
Baby poop that is.
[C] The worst kind. _ _ _
So he grew his hair long and threw away his [F] comb.
Headed back to Jerusalem to find mom, dad and home.
[G] But when he got there the cupboard was bare.
Except for an old black man with a fishing rod.
He said what are you going to be when you grow up?
Jesus said [C] God.
_ Oh my God what have [F] I got myself into?
I'm a human corkscrew.
All my wine is blood.
They're going to kill [G] me mama.
They don't like me bud.
[C] _ _ _ _ So Jesus went to heaven.
[F] And he went there awful quick.
[G] All them people killed him.
And he wasn't even [C] sick.
So come and gather around me.
[F]
My contemporary peers.
[G] I'll tell you all the story of Jesus. _
[C] The missing years.
_ _ _ Charlie bought some popcorn. _
[F] Billy bought a car.
[G] Someone almost bought the farm.
But they didn't [C] go that far.
Things shut down at midnight.
[F] At least around here they do.
[G] Cause we all reside down the block inside.
[C] 23 Skidoo.
_ [G] We all reside down the block inside.
[C] 23 [F] Skidoo.
[C] _ _ _ _ _ [Eb] [N] Thank you.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Facts about this song