C                        G7
I rode into Tucson three hours ago
                                  C
For supplies and a short friendly game
                      G7
Of poker while Smitty put some new shoes
                          C
On old Dan before he goes lame


[Verse 2]
                     G7
I sat in a game at the Miner's Saloon
                      C
Soon I had doubled my stake
                                     G7
The cards run like they'd been dealt by Lady Luck
                          C
They were just sealing my fate


[Verse 3]
  F                           C
A young cowboy lost more than he could afford
      F                       C
And accused me of dealing too smart
    F                        C
His draw was too slow and he fell to the floor
     G7                         C
With three bullets close to the heart


[Chorus]
   F                   Em
Oh cottonwood tree are you waiting for me
Dm                 C
Waiting to take me away
F                          C
I've done no wrong but the town cannot see
    G7                     C
And so with my life I must pay


[Verse 4]
                              G7
A crowd started gathering the sheriff came in
                     C
I handed him over my gun
                              G7
Was then when I found out the boy I had killed
                                  C
Was the town's biggest man's only son


[Verse 5]
                     G7
I tried to explain I had shot in defense
                           C
It was the young cowboy or me
                             G7
The crowd wouldn't listen so they drug me out
                               C
To the limb of this cottonwood tree


[Verse 6]
                          G7
Majestically standing out here all alone
                              C
It's spring and the valley is green
                           G7
But I can't admire a place I don't belong
                          C
To me it's all like a bad dream


[Verse 7]
    F                         C
But old Dan's beneath me with new shoes and all
   F                             C
As they place the noose round my neck
F                       C
Cowboys I've never laid eyes on before
    G7                   C
Are tying my hands to my back


[Chorus]
   F                   Em
Oh cottonwood tree are you waiting for me
Dm                 C
Waiting to take me away
F                          C
I've done no wrong but the town cannot see
    G7                     C
And so with my life I must pay


[Verse 8]
                              G7
I see hate in the eyes of the town's biggest man
                              C
As he pulls a branch from the tree
                           G7
To whip the backside of my old pony Dan
                            C
So he'll run out from under me


[Verse 9]
                          G7
Insane he won't listen to my last appeal
                            C
A wild grin has covered his face
                          G7
As I tried to reason just how he would feel
                         C
If he were up here in my place


[Verse 10]
                              G7
There's many a mountain trail I'll never ride
                         C
Green valleys I'll never see
                          G7
A young cowboy died and a man's foolish pride
                              C
Brought me to this cottonwood tree


[Verse 11]
   F                         C
My face is turned upward and I cannot breathe
    F                      C
The sky's growing dark overhead
    F                          C
The knot's pulling tight as my body sweeps free
  G7                       C
A few moments more I'll be dead


[Chorus]
  F                         Em
Oh cottonwood tree were you put here for me
Dm                 C
Put here to take me away
F                          C
I've done no wrong but the town cannot see
    G7                     C
And so with my life I must pay