Chords for John Smith - Clara Waters
Tempo:
87.25 bpm
Chords used:
A
E
B
D
F#
Tuning:Standard Tuning (EADGBE)Capo:+0fret
Start Jamming...
I was driving out through Mitchell, heard a lonesome railroad whistle,
so I stopped beside the highway for [E] a spell.
And in this pleasant place was a notice well displayed,
with a story I am now [A] about to tell.
[D] The notice was a roll of those who'd paid the toll,
while working on the railroad [A] to the west.
[E] Wives and workers perished, with the children that they cherished,
and in lonely graves were gently [A] laid to rest.
[D] Then I found my vision misted, as among the many listed,
the name of Clara Waters [A] caught my eye.
[E] I imagined my own daughter in the place of Clara Waters,
while the busy highway traffic [A] hurtled by.
How short her life had been, she was only seventeen,
yet a story may be very [E] simply told.
A doctor might have saved her from the fever after labour,
her baby died when he was [A] four days old.
[D] Then the scene before me shifted, as back in time I drifted,
as back in time one hundred [A] years I went.
[E] And through my muddled dreaming, the morning sun came beaming,
on a battered billy steaming [A] by her tent.
[D] Well, here was pretty Clara, with her husband there to share,
a simple meal before their [A] daily cast.
[E] I am anxious now to meet her, so I hurry on to greet her,
with the questions that I feel I [A] have to ask.
[B] And when the day is breaking, is there happiness in waiting?
Have you had your share of laughter, [F#] joy and cheer?
You were very young to marry, and the baby that you carry,
does it make you wish your mother could [B] be near?
[E] In the coolness of the morning, in the pickerninny dawning,
does your husband tell you often [B] of his love?
[F#] While the magpies' merry singing, in the higher branches ringing,
is bringing morning's greetings [B] from above.
[E] Does the gentle evening breeze, wave the smoke up through the trees?
Do you see the shafts of sunlight [B] drifting down?
[F#] Or has drudgery and duty, made you blind to every beauty?
While the camp is turning dusty, [B] bare and brown,
[A]
with a bed of planks and sacking, [D] and every comfort lacking,
[E] growing heavy as your time is [A] drawing near,
in your shabby tent so dreary, [D] are you very often weary?
[E] And do you sometimes shed a silent [A] lonely tear?
[B] And when her son was born, on a hot December morn,
and the deadly fever [F#] started on its quest,
was there time for her to hold him, and in her love enfold him?
Was there time to give him comfort [B] at her breast?
[E] Of course there's no reply, to my questions and my praying,
and suddenly I know it's [B] time to go.
[F#] But I reckon I'll remember, what happened that December,
in the summertime a hundred years [B] ago.
[A]
And then a road train passes, there's a ripple through the grasses,
as if to wave a fleeting [E] sad goodbye,
to Clara and her son, their lives so briefly run,
and the busy highway traffic rushes [A] by.
[D] [E] [A]
[G]
so I stopped beside the highway for [E] a spell.
And in this pleasant place was a notice well displayed,
with a story I am now [A] about to tell.
[D] The notice was a roll of those who'd paid the toll,
while working on the railroad [A] to the west.
[E] Wives and workers perished, with the children that they cherished,
and in lonely graves were gently [A] laid to rest.
[D] Then I found my vision misted, as among the many listed,
the name of Clara Waters [A] caught my eye.
[E] I imagined my own daughter in the place of Clara Waters,
while the busy highway traffic [A] hurtled by.
How short her life had been, she was only seventeen,
yet a story may be very [E] simply told.
A doctor might have saved her from the fever after labour,
her baby died when he was [A] four days old.
[D] Then the scene before me shifted, as back in time I drifted,
as back in time one hundred [A] years I went.
[E] And through my muddled dreaming, the morning sun came beaming,
on a battered billy steaming [A] by her tent.
[D] Well, here was pretty Clara, with her husband there to share,
a simple meal before their [A] daily cast.
[E] I am anxious now to meet her, so I hurry on to greet her,
with the questions that I feel I [A] have to ask.
[B] And when the day is breaking, is there happiness in waiting?
Have you had your share of laughter, [F#] joy and cheer?
You were very young to marry, and the baby that you carry,
does it make you wish your mother could [B] be near?
[E] In the coolness of the morning, in the pickerninny dawning,
does your husband tell you often [B] of his love?
[F#] While the magpies' merry singing, in the higher branches ringing,
is bringing morning's greetings [B] from above.
[E] Does the gentle evening breeze, wave the smoke up through the trees?
Do you see the shafts of sunlight [B] drifting down?
[F#] Or has drudgery and duty, made you blind to every beauty?
While the camp is turning dusty, [B] bare and brown,
[A]
with a bed of planks and sacking, [D] and every comfort lacking,
[E] growing heavy as your time is [A] drawing near,
in your shabby tent so dreary, [D] are you very often weary?
[E] And do you sometimes shed a silent [A] lonely tear?
[B] And when her son was born, on a hot December morn,
and the deadly fever [F#] started on its quest,
was there time for her to hold him, and in her love enfold him?
Was there time to give him comfort [B] at her breast?
[E] Of course there's no reply, to my questions and my praying,
and suddenly I know it's [B] time to go.
[F#] But I reckon I'll remember, what happened that December,
in the summertime a hundred years [B] ago.
[A]
And then a road train passes, there's a ripple through the grasses,
as if to wave a fleeting [E] sad goodbye,
to Clara and her son, their lives so briefly run,
and the busy highway traffic rushes [A] by.
[D] [E] [A]
[G]
Key:
A
E
B
D
F#
A
E
B
I was driving out through Mitchell, heard a lonesome railroad whistle,
so I stopped beside the highway for [E] a spell. _
_ And in this pleasant place was a notice well displayed,
with a story I am now [A] about to tell. _
_ [D] The notice was a roll of those who'd paid the toll,
while working on the railroad [A] to the west. _
_ [E] Wives and workers perished, with the children that they cherished,
and in lonely graves were gently [A] laid to rest. _
[D] Then I found my vision misted, as among the many listed,
the name of Clara Waters [A] caught my eye. _
[E] I imagined my own daughter in the place of Clara Waters,
while the busy highway traffic [A] hurtled by. _
How short her life had been, she was only seventeen,
yet a story may be very [E] simply told. _
A doctor might have saved her from the fever after labour,
her baby died when he was [A] four days old. _
[D] Then the scene before me shifted, as back in time I drifted,
as back in time one hundred [A] years I went. _
[E] And through my muddled dreaming, the morning sun came beaming,
on a battered billy steaming [A] by her tent. _
[D] Well, here was pretty Clara, with her husband there to share,
a simple meal before their [A] daily cast. _
[E] I am anxious now to meet her, so I hurry on to greet her,
with the questions that I feel I [A] have to ask. _
_ [B] _ _ _ And when the day is breaking, is there happiness in waiting?
Have you had your share of laughter, [F#] joy and cheer?
_ You were very young to marry, and the baby that you carry,
does it make you wish your mother could [B] be near?
_ [E] In the coolness of the morning, in the pickerninny dawning,
does your husband tell you often [B] of his love?
_ [F#] While the magpies' merry singing, in the higher branches ringing,
is bringing morning's greetings [B] from above.
_ [E] Does the gentle evening breeze, wave the smoke up through the trees?
Do you see the shafts of sunlight [B] drifting down?
_ [F#] Or has drudgery and duty, made you blind to every beauty?
While the camp is turning dusty, [B] bare and brown,
_ _ [A] _ _ _
with a bed of planks and sacking, [D] and every comfort lacking,
[E] growing heavy as your time is [A] drawing near, _
in your shabby tent so dreary, [D] are you very often weary?
[E] And do you sometimes shed a silent [A] lonely tear? _ _
_ [B] _ _ _ And when her son was born, on a hot December morn,
and the deadly fever [F#] started on its quest,
_ was there time for her to hold him, and in her love enfold him?
Was there time to give him comfort [B] at her breast?
_ [E] Of course there's no reply, to my questions and my praying,
and suddenly I know it's [B] time to go.
_ [F#] But I reckon I'll remember, what happened that December,
in the summertime a hundred years [B] ago.
_ _ [A] _ _ _ _
And then a road train passes, there's a ripple through the grasses,
as if to wave a fleeting [E] sad goodbye,
_ to Clara and her son, their lives so briefly run,
and the busy highway traffic rushes [A] by.
[D] _ _ _ [E] _ _ [A] _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ [G] _ _ _ _ _
so I stopped beside the highway for [E] a spell. _
_ And in this pleasant place was a notice well displayed,
with a story I am now [A] about to tell. _
_ [D] The notice was a roll of those who'd paid the toll,
while working on the railroad [A] to the west. _
_ [E] Wives and workers perished, with the children that they cherished,
and in lonely graves were gently [A] laid to rest. _
[D] Then I found my vision misted, as among the many listed,
the name of Clara Waters [A] caught my eye. _
[E] I imagined my own daughter in the place of Clara Waters,
while the busy highway traffic [A] hurtled by. _
How short her life had been, she was only seventeen,
yet a story may be very [E] simply told. _
A doctor might have saved her from the fever after labour,
her baby died when he was [A] four days old. _
[D] Then the scene before me shifted, as back in time I drifted,
as back in time one hundred [A] years I went. _
[E] And through my muddled dreaming, the morning sun came beaming,
on a battered billy steaming [A] by her tent. _
[D] Well, here was pretty Clara, with her husband there to share,
a simple meal before their [A] daily cast. _
[E] I am anxious now to meet her, so I hurry on to greet her,
with the questions that I feel I [A] have to ask. _
_ [B] _ _ _ And when the day is breaking, is there happiness in waiting?
Have you had your share of laughter, [F#] joy and cheer?
_ You were very young to marry, and the baby that you carry,
does it make you wish your mother could [B] be near?
_ [E] In the coolness of the morning, in the pickerninny dawning,
does your husband tell you often [B] of his love?
_ [F#] While the magpies' merry singing, in the higher branches ringing,
is bringing morning's greetings [B] from above.
_ [E] Does the gentle evening breeze, wave the smoke up through the trees?
Do you see the shafts of sunlight [B] drifting down?
_ [F#] Or has drudgery and duty, made you blind to every beauty?
While the camp is turning dusty, [B] bare and brown,
_ _ [A] _ _ _
with a bed of planks and sacking, [D] and every comfort lacking,
[E] growing heavy as your time is [A] drawing near, _
in your shabby tent so dreary, [D] are you very often weary?
[E] And do you sometimes shed a silent [A] lonely tear? _ _
_ [B] _ _ _ And when her son was born, on a hot December morn,
and the deadly fever [F#] started on its quest,
_ was there time for her to hold him, and in her love enfold him?
Was there time to give him comfort [B] at her breast?
_ [E] Of course there's no reply, to my questions and my praying,
and suddenly I know it's [B] time to go.
_ [F#] But I reckon I'll remember, what happened that December,
in the summertime a hundred years [B] ago.
_ _ [A] _ _ _ _
And then a road train passes, there's a ripple through the grasses,
as if to wave a fleeting [E] sad goodbye,
_ to Clara and her son, their lives so briefly run,
and the busy highway traffic rushes [A] by.
[D] _ _ _ [E] _ _ [A] _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ [G] _ _ _ _ _