Chords for Steve Goodman - You better get it while you can (the ballad of Carl Martin)

[F#m] _ _ _ [A] _ _ _ 4.
I remember when I met Carl Martin.
[D] It must have been a dozen [A] years ago. _
[D] This wise old
[Am] gent was gray and bent, [B] but his eyes had [E] a fiery glow.
[A] He was born April Fool's Day of
[Dm] 1906 near Big [A] Stone Gap, VA.
[D] He could play a little [A] fiddle and some blues [D#] guitar that
he'd picked up [E] along the way.
[A] But Jethro, once he put his hands on the mandolin, [Dm] he
lit up just like a Christmas [A] tree.
[D] [A] Along with Ted [F#m] Bogan and Howard Armstrong, [Bm] they
were the best string [A] band I ever did see.
Now for fifty odd years, they played rent
[D] parties, roadhouses, concerts, and [A] festivals too.
[D] At the drop of a hat, [A] these three black
cats [B] would play you every song [E] they knew.
[A] It was Lady Be Good, [D] the Barnyard Dance, and
the Ice Cream Freezer [A] Blues.
Now [D] they'd trot the oldest [A] chestnuts out [G] and [F#m] make every one
sound [E] brand new.
[A] And little white boys with their shiny guitars [D] would follow right along
at [A] their heels.
[Am] They learned all the words and they learned all the chords, [B] but they
never did learn how [E] it feels.
Now [A] one night I asked Carl where he got the fire, and [D] he
said, Steve, you've got to [A] understand.
If [D] you want to be someone, you [F#m] better have some
fun, [B] and you better get it while [Em] you can.
He [A] said, you better [C#m] get it while [A] you can.
[Dm] You better [A] get it while you can.
[D] If you wait too [A] long, it'll all be [F#m] gone, and you'll be [E] sorry then.
[A] It doesn't matter if you're rich or poor.
[D] It's the same for a [A] woman or a man.
[D] From the cradle to the [A] crypt is a [F#] mighty short trip, so you better get it [A] while you can.
[D] _ _ [A] _ _ _ [D] _ [A] _
Carl always had a way to make the good times [D] roll when the rest of us [A] weren't so sure.
[D] He'd just pick out the [A] prettiest woman in the room, [B] and then he'd sing every [E] song to her.
[A] Now one night back east, when the gig was done, [Dm] there was an all-night [A] blowout [D] jam.
We played and we [A] sang and we drank for hours [B] until the sun came up [E] again.
[A] It was blues and ballads, ragtime, Dixieland, [Bm] swing, some [F#m] old-time show tunes, and then Carl Martin sang some songs nobody [D] else knew, and some I haven't heard [E] since then.
[A] But right before dawn, he did two more [Dm] songs, just to set the mood.
[D#] He'd separate the strong [A] from the faint.
[D] It was a red-hot rendition of [A] the old pine tree [B] and a double-time version [A] of the Saints, [E] _ with the mandolin [A] behind his [E] head.
[A] When he was done, those of us who could still breathe [D] took off our hats to [A] that man.
[D] Carl had played [A] everybody under the table [B] that night, and he said, you better get it while you [E] _ [D] _ _
[Am] _ _ _ [D] _ _ _ _ [F#] _
_ [F#m] _ can.
And you'll be sorry [E] then.
[A] It doesn't matter if you're rich or poor.
[D] It's the same [C] for a [A] woman or a man.
[D] From the cradle to the crypt is a mighty [F#] short trip, [G#m] so you [A] better get it while you can.
[D] You [A] _ _ _ [B] _ _ [A] _ _ _
_ _ know, Carl and his buddies never got too far.
[D] When he died, Martin didn't [A] have a dime.
[D] He was a little behind [A] in his payments, and a little bit ahead of his [E] time.
_ [A] Last week, some so-called musicians stayed up real late and burned one down.
The liquor kept coming, so we kept strumming [E] till a minute or two before dawn.
[A] There were those who stayed and those who faded, [D] but soon I was left [A] all alone.
I don't believe in ghosts, but I could swear I heard Carl [D#] Martin singing [A] one more song.
It went, you better get it while you can.
[D] You better get it while you can.
If you wait too long, [A] it'll all be gone.
[F#m] You'll be sorry [E] then.
It [A] doesn't matter if you're rich or poor.
[Dm] And it's the same [D] for a woman [A] or a man.
[Dm] From the cradle [B] to the crypt [A] is a mighty short trip, [F#] so you better get it while [A] you can.
[D#] You better get it while [A] you can.
_ [D] _ _ _ [A] _ [Cm] _ [A] _ _
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