C                     Am
'Twas a brisk autumn day they remember it well
F                      C
Tripper went strolling along
                        Am
He was merely a boy his mom's pride and joy
   C                  F
So sure he could do no wrong
        Am                     G
Running down to the river then up by the tracks
C                      F
Pretending he was Jesse James
         Am                  C           F
With his father's old hat, a stick for a gun
C               G           C       F
 Tripper walked home in the rain

       C
Such a glorious sight
      Am
Fresh flowers in bloom
       F                            C
In the spring when the ice takes to thaw
                                 Am
But it's a rough wretched road a man has to go
C                     F
Living outside of the law
      Am                  G
For a dark dirty cell was Tripper's own hell
C                       F
Survival was his battle cry
   Am                          C          F
If drinking don't kill me or a villainous gun
C            G           C
He said I'll live 'til I die

[Chorus]

E                  Am
Mother dear I'm in trouble here
    F                   C
Far away in the distant West
E                 Am
I've laid down on stony ground
        F               G      F C
I'm not feeling all the best

F C

F C

Am F C



C                          Am
Cold wind on the river and rain on the road
      F                          C
Every light in the house burning strong
                    Am
Somebody's saying a sad rosary
C                            F
Wondering where Tripper went wrong
          Am                     G
'Cause he met his own maker to a grim undertaker
       C                     F
Took a knife too deep in the lung
     Am                  C         F
In a dim parking lot his very last thoughts
         C            G         C
Were the days he went strolling along
 

[Chorus]

E                  Am
Mother dear I'm in trouble here
    F                   C
Far away in the distant West
E                 Am
I've laid down on stony ground
        F               G      F C
I'm not feeling all the best

F C

F C

Am F C


        C                     Am
'Twas a brisk autumn day they remember it well

F                      C
Tripper went strolling along