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Tom Ames Prayer

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Gmajor

90BPM

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[Verse]
GEveryone in Nagadoches knew Tom Ames
would come to some bad Dend,
Well, the sEmheriff had caught him stealing cChickens and such by the
Gtime that Dhe was Gten.
GAnd one day his daddy took a 10 dollar bill
and he tucked it in his Dhand,
He said EmI can tell you're headed for Ctrouble son,
and your Gmama wouldn't DunderGstand.
GSo he took that money and his brother's old bay
and left without a word of tDhanks,
Fell Emin with a crowd in some Cborder town
GTook to Drobbin' Gbanks.
[Solo]
Em C    G    D
Em C    G    D  G
[Verse]
GWell, outside the law your luck'll run out fast,
a few years came and Dwent;
'til he's Emtrapped in an alley in ACbilene
with Gall but Dfour shells Gspent.
GAnd he realized prayin' was the only thing
that he hadn't ever Dtried;
Emwell, he wasn't sure he kCnew quite how
but he Glooked up Dto the Gsky.
GSaid "You don't owe me nothin' and as far as I know, Lord
I don't owe nothin' to Dyou
EmI ain't askin' for a Cmiracle Lord
just a Glittle bit of Dluck will Gdo.
GAnd you know I ain't never prayed before
but it always seemed to Dme
that Emprayin's the same as Cbeggin' Lord
I don't Gtake no DcharGity.
[Instrumental]
Em C G D
Em C G D G
GYeah, but right now Lord with my back to the wall
I can't help but reDcall
how they Emnearly hung me for Cstealin' a horse
in GFt. DSmith, GArkansas
GJudge Parker said guilty and the gavel came down
just like a cannon Dshot.
And I Emwent away Cquietly
I begGan to Dfile and Gplot.
GWell, they sent the preacher down to my cell
he said, "the Lord is your only Dhope,
he's the Emonly friend that you're Cgonna have
when you Ghit the Dend of Parker's Grope."
GWell, I guess he could've kept on preachin' 'til Christmas
but he turned his back on Dme.
EmI put a homemade blade to that Cgolden throat
and asked the Gdeputy Dfor the Gkey.
GYeah, it ain't the first close call I ever had
as I'm sure you already Dknow
I had some Emhelp from you Lord and the CDevil himself,
it's been Gstrictly Dtouch and Ggo.
GYeah, but who in the hell am I talkin to?
There ain't no one here but Dme
(single strum each chord)
And then he Emcocked both his pistols, and he Cspit in the dirt,
and he Gwalked out Din the Gstreet.

All chords in this song (4)

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Tom Ames Prayer

by Steve Earle

Lyrics & chords · Original key

Chords in this song · guitar

[Verse]

Everyone in Nagadoches knew Tom Ames

would come to some bad end,

Em C

Well, the sheriff had caught him stealing chickens and such by the

G D G

time that he was ten.

And one day his daddy took a 10 dollar bill

and he tucked it in his hand,

Em C

He said I can tell you're headed for trouble son,

G D G

and your mama wouldn't understand.

So he took that money and his brother's old bay

and left without a word of thanks,

Em C

Fell in with a crowd in some border town

G D G

Took to robbin' banks.

[Solo]

Em C G D

Em C G D G

[Verse]

Well, outside the law your luck'll run out fast,

a few years came and went;

Em C

'til he's trapped in an alley in Abilene

G D G

with all but four shells spent.

And he realized prayin' was the only thing

that he hadn't ever tried;

Em C

well, he wasn't sure he knew quite how

G D G

but he looked up to the sky.

Said "You don't owe me nothin' and as far as I know, Lord

I don't owe nothin' to you

Em C

I ain't askin' for a miracle Lord

G D G

just a little bit of luck will do.

And you know I ain't never prayed before

but it always seemed to me

Em C

that prayin's the same as beggin' Lord

G D G

I don't take no charity.

[Instrumental]

Em C G D

Em C G D G

Yeah, but right now Lord with my back to the wall

I can't help but recall

Em C

how they nearly hung me for stealin' a horse

G D G

in Ft. Smith, Arkansas

Judge Parker said guilty and the gavel came down

just like a cannon shot.

Em C

And I went away quietly

G D G

I began to file and plot.

Well, they sent the preacher down to my cell

he said, "the Lord is your only hope,

Em C

he's the only friend that you're gonna have

G D G

when you hit the end of Parker's rope."

Well, I guess he could've kept on preachin' 'til Christmas

but he turned his back on me.

Em C

I put a homemade blade to that golden throat

G D G

and asked the deputy for the key.

Yeah, it ain't the first close call I ever had

as I'm sure you already know

Em C

I had some help from you Lord and the Devil himself,

G D G

it's been strictly touch and go.

Yeah, but who in the hell am I talkin to?

There ain't no one here but me

(single strum each chord)

Em C

And then he cocked both his pistols, and he spit in the dirt,

G D G

and he walked out in the street.

About Tom Ames Prayer Chords by Steve Earle

Learn how to play Tom Ames Prayer by Steve Earle with free guitar chords, lyrics, and interactive chord diagrams. Search for “Tom Ames Prayer chords”, “Tom Ames Prayer guitar chords”, or “Steve Earle Tom Ames Prayer chords” and you will find this page — transpose to any key, tap chords for diagrams, and use auto-scroll while you play. Perfect for beginners looking for easy Tom Ames Prayer chords and for experienced players who want accurate Tom Ames Prayer lyrics and chords in one place. Common chords in this song include G, D, Em, C.

FAQ — Tom Ames Prayer by Steve Earle

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