Chords for Southside Blues/Tobacco Road-Lou Rawls-1966

[Bb] _ [C] _ [G] _ As soon as I was big enough to get a job, _ they saved me some money and [N] bought me a ticket
and guess the first thing smoking.
I left.
_ And I made a promise, _ _ if they could just keep
the thought out of my mind, I'd keep competing at city limits. _ _
Because my part of Chicago, _ _ _
just as all cities have this particular _ residential area, _ in Detroit they call it Black Bottom.
_ In Cleveland they call it Euclid Avenue, 55th, _ 105th, Central Avenue. _
_ In Philadelphia they
call it South Street. _ _
In New York City they call it Harlem.
_ Drop down below the cotton
curtain in Atlanta they call it Buttermilk Bottom.
_ _ But then you come out west, where
it's the best.
_ In San Francisco they call it the Fillmore District.
_ In Los Angeles they
used to call it Watts. _
_ They changed the name though.
_ _ I _ speak about this place because I'm
quite familiar with it. _
Everyone is in some sense or other.
So it all boils down to the
_ people.
I'm speaking about this place because you see, _ I like in the winter time when it's
very, very cold.
And it gets colder in Chicago than anywhere else on earth.
_ Because when
it's around ten above zero and it's about 12 inches of snow outside and the hawk, speaking
of the almighty hawk, Mr.
Wind, when he blows down the street around 35, 40 miles an hour
it's just like a giant razor blade blowing down the street.
_ And all the clothes in the
world can't help you.
And when you live in a place like I lived in, _ where everybody had
a key to the front hall door because it once was a flat but then they cut it up into kitchenette
apartments and _ _ you leave that front hall door open and the hawk get in there, boy, you'd
be calling a bunch of dirty names before you can get in your room.
[Bm] _ _ _ I speak about this,
as I said before, because I know.
_ [C] _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ [Bb] _ _ _ _
_ [Bm] _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ [Bb] _ _ _ _
_ _ _ [C] _ _ [Ab] _ _ _
_ [Dm] _ [Eb] The shacks all I own were hanging on [Bb] my back.
[C] _ The [Bb] Lord knows [C] how I loathe _ this place called Tobacco Road.
_ [D] _
_ [Em] [Eb] But it's a [Cm] home, yeah, [Ebm] _
[Cm] the only life I'll ever [C]
know.
_ _ _ _ _ [Dm] And the Lord [Cm] knows I [E] [C] loathe Tobacco _ [F] Road.
[C] [G] How you got Thomas Jode on the [Bb] piano again, [C] folks?
[Bbm] _ _ [Ebm] _ [Bb] _ [C] _ [Cm] _ [Abm] _
_ [C] _ _ _ [Abm] _ [C] _ _ _
[Bb] _ [Cm] _ _ [Ebm] _ [Bb] _ [C] _ [Cm] _ _
[Db] [C] I'm _ _ _ _ [Cm] _ _
_ [F] _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ [C] _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ [Dm] _ _ _
_ [A] _ [G] _ _ [Cm] _ [C] _ _ _
[F] _ [C] _ [G] _ _ _ [Bb] _ [C] _
gonna leave _ and get a job with the help and the [Bb] grace of God.
[C] _
Save my [Bb] money [C] and get [Bb] rich I know.
[C]
And [Bb] bring it back to Tobacco _ Road.
_ [C] Bring [B] that [Bb] mic [C] _
[Em] and [Bb] the [Cm] crane.
Blow [Ebm] it up [Cm] and start all over [Bb] again.
[Cm] And I'll build a [Bb] town, [Cm]
I'll be [G] proud to [Bb] show, [F] _ [Bb] and keep the name Tobacco [C] Road.
[D] Cause _ [Gb]
[Eb] it's a home, yeah, _ the only [F] life I'll [C] ever know. _ _
[C] _ _ _ [Dm] I despise [Gm] you cause [C] you're filthy.
But I love you [F] because [C] [G] you're my home.
_ [C] Tobacco Road, [A] _
[C] Tobacco Road, [A] you're [C] dirty and you're filthy.
[A] _
[C] Tobacco Road, [Gm] I'm gonna [C] get me some dynamite.
[A]
And I'll [C] bring me a [D] crane [A] and then [C] blow it up.
I'll [A] tear it down and start [C] out all over again.
[A] Tobacco Road, _ [Eb] Tobacco Road, [F] I [A] [C] love you [F] because [C] you're my home.
[F] But you're [C] dirty and you're filthy.
[A] _
[C] Tobacco Road, [F] I'm gonna [C] blow you up, [A]
I'm gonna [C] tear you down.
[A] And I'll [C] build me a town and [F] I will be proud [C] to show.
[A] But I'll keep the name, I'm gonna [C] keep the name, [A] I'm gonna [C] keep the name, [A] _
[C] Tobacco Road, [A] Tobacco [C] Road.
[A] _
[E] Tobacco [C] Road, Road, [F] _ [C] Road, _ [Gb] _ Road.
[Eb] _ [G] [C] I'm _ _ _ _ _ _ talking about Tobacco _ Road, _ _ _ _ Road, [A] Road.
_ [Bb] _ _ [Eb] _ _ [Dm] _ [E] _ [D] _ [Gm] _ _ _ _ [C] _