When Uncle Bill Quit Dope

      C
Well, Uncle Bill was my Mothers Brother,
F
tall lanky man
    G                                       C
But somewhere back in Uncle Bill's life, he took to sniffing cocaine.
    C
I'd find him out in the back yard,
F
sitting against a tree.
    G
His eyes bugged out in a cocaine stare,
        C
and his mind in a cocaine dream.
      C
Well, one fall day when Uncle Bill was
F
having a cocaine fit,
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He said Louise, this coke's no good
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and I've made up my mind to quit.
        C
Now you take this key and I'll go upstairs and
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then you lock the door,
    G
and Lord I swear I won't come down,
       C
till I don't want dope no more.


[Chorus]
         F                        C                    F                 C
Well, he stomped the floor and he beat the door and he moaned a mournful cry.
         Am                Em                   Dm                   G
When the last cocaine went through his brain we thought he'd surely die.
   F                           C                        F               C
He yelled and he cussed and he fell on the floor and we almost gave up hope
   C                                  F               C
As long as I live I won't forget when Uncle Bill quit dope.


[Verse]
              C
Well, for the first few hours we heard not a sound,
  F
upstairs was quiet and still.
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And then all of a sudden we heard a shriek of
C
pain from Uncle Bill.
   C
He bounced out of bed and across the room,
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I heard him break a chair.
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And then another scream louder than the first as he
C
ripped out a hunk of his hair.
   C
My Mother kissed us all that night,
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as brother and I lay in bed.
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We wondered if poor old Uncle Bill was
C
dying or already dead.
    C
But all night long we listened to him as he
F
raved, pleaded and called.
      G
And I swear I heard his fingernails tearing the
C
paper off the walls.


[Chorus]
         F                        C                    F                 C
Well, he stomped the floor and he beat the door and he moaned a mournful cry.
         Am                Em                   Dm                   G
When the last cocaine went through his brain we thought he'd surely die.
   F                           C                        F               C
He yelled and he cussed and he fell on the floor and we almost gave up hope
   C                                  F               C
As long as I live I won't forget when Uncle Bill quit dope.


[Verse]
      C
After fourteen days and nights of hell, it
F
grew quiet overhead.
      G
And I peered past mother, as she unlocked the door
C
expecting to find him dead.
    C
But to my surprise there was Uncle Bill, as
F
shiny as a brand new dollar.
    G
His hair was combed and his beard was gone,
     C
he'd grown two inches taller.
       C
In his old blue suite and his patterned shoes, he was
F
quite a sight to see.
    G
The light was back in his deep blue eyes, he
C
turned to mother and me.
   C
He said Louise I've been through hell and I
F
nearly went insane.
      G
But I finally beat the devils habit, I
C
beat the demon cocaine.


[Chorus]
         F                        C                    F                 C
Well, he stomped the floor and he beat the door and he moaned a mournful cry.
         Am                Em                   Dm                   G
When the last cocaine went through his brain we thought he'd surely die.
   F                           C                        F               C
He yelled and he cussed and he fell on the floor and we almost gave up hope
   C                                  F               C
As long as I live I won't forget when Uncle Bill quit dope.
   C                                  F               C
As long as I live I won't forget when Uncle Bill quit dope.