Chords for The Late, Great Dave Van Ronk: "Stackerlee"

_ Furry Lewis was one of my very first idols.
_ _ _ _ _ _ Probably for the simple reason he was one of the first of the old _ _ blues singer-songsters _ _
_ _ who was actually reissued on LP, _ _ _ 10-inch LP called Listen to Our Story, _ which I think_
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ And his recording of _ _ _ Stackelea _ _ was on it. _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ And I couldn't have been more than 14 or so _ when I picked that up.
_ [Eb] And of course _ I wanted to be able to do that, but I had no idea.
I [Bb] assumed _ _ when I first heard it, it was two _ guitarists _ _ _ [E]
with flat picks.
And one was flat picking the bass and the other one was flat picking the treble.
It was the only way it made any [Bb] sense to me, _ to my ear at the time. _ _ _
_ _ And two or three years later, _ over in Washington Square Park,
I subsequently actually saw finger-picking. _ _
Tom Pelley, as I recall, was _ _
[F] _ _ _ the first person that I really noticed doing it.
_ And of course a light bulb went on directly over my head as soon as I saw that.
And I immediately went _ to work.
I was playing [Bb] the guitar already at that point.
_ _ _ And I went to work on learning how to do that kind of thing.
And _ one of the first things that I tried to work up _ _ was _ _ _ Furry's Stackelea.
I haven't taken too many liberties with this.
It's very close to Furry's chart.
I _ still do the song occasionally and I still don't take too many liberties with it
because there's no point in messing around with something that's already perfect.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _
But I never met Furry. _ _ _
He was doing the _ _ folk festival circuit _ in _ the 1960s [D] and so was I.
But just somehow or other, we were past and never crossed. _
_ And he's one of the people I _ have his picture up on the wall in my house [Bb] _
to this day.
_ _ And I'm really sorry I never got a chance to meet him and say thank you.
But that's _ _ showbiz, what can I say.
[C] _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ [G] _ _ [F] _ _ _ _
_ _ [C] _ _ [G] _ _ _ _
[C] _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ [F] _ _
_ _ _ _ _ [G] _ _ _
_ [C] _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ [F] _
_ _ _ _ _ [C] _ _ [G] _
_ _ [C] _ _ _ A _ woman comes a running, _ fell down on her knees.
My Lord God, Mr.
Stackelea, [F] don't shoot my brother please.
Cry [C] when you [G]
lose your [C] money, learn to lose. _ _
_ Talk about some gambler, ought to see my Richard Lee.
_ _ Shot $1,000 [F] and he come out on a three.
Cry [C] when you lose [G] your money, learn [C] to lose. _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ [F] _ _
_ _ [G] _ _ _ _ _ _
_ [C] _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ [G] _ _ [F] _ _ _ _
_ [G] _ _ _ _ _ _ [C] _
_ _ _ _ Stackelea got his pistol, _ boy he got it fast.
_ Shot poor Billy through and through [F] and he broke a looking [Dm] glass.
Cry [G] when you lose your money, [C] learn to lose.
_ _ _ Oh the deputy says to the sheriff, you want him dead or alive.
_ How in the world we gonna bring him in [F] when he totes that [Dm] 45?
Cry [C] when you lose [G] your money, [C] learn to lose.
_ You know the deputy leaves the office, puts the pistol on the shelf.
You want to go get that bad [F] man, you better do it by yourself.
[C] Cry when you [Em] lose your money, [C] learn to lose. _
_ _ _ _ _ Well they said for the militia, _ _ wagons come _ loaded up with pistols.
And [F] a great big [Dm] gatling gun.
Cry [C] when you [G] lose your money, [C] learn to lose.
_ Oh the judge says Mr.
Stackelea, Mr.
Bad Man Stackelea, I'm gonna hang your body up.
[F] Set your spirit free.
Cry [C] when you lose your [G] money, [C] learn to lose.
_ _ _ Standing on his gallows, head way up high. _
12 o'clock we killed him, I [F] was glad to [Dm] see him die.
Cry [C] when you lose [G] your money, [C] learn to lose.
_ _ There's a great big rumbling underground.
I'm a what is that?
Ain't nothing but old Stackelea down in [F] hell with his John B.
[Dm] Stetson hat.
Cry when you [Em] lose your money, [C] learn to lose.
_ _ Stacke says to the devil, devil lets us have some fun.
You stab me with your pitchfork [F] and I'll shoot you with [Dm] my gun.
[C] Cry when you [Em] lose your money, [C] learn to lose.
_ _ Well Stacke says to the devil, put your pitchfork on the shelf.
I'm that bad man they call Stackelea, [F] I'm gonna rule hell by myself.
Cry [Em] when you lose your money, learn [C] to lose. _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ [F] _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ [N] _