INTRO: Cmaj7 C Am7 Am Cmaj7 C Am Cmaj7

Carmelita was a street angel
But she kept her halo hid
Never learned to read or write so well
She was just a farmer’s kid
She took communion at the age of twelve
She wore a cross of wood

She heard the clanging of the mission bell
And she vowed that she’d be good

CHORUS:
But the world goes ‘round
And it’s hard enough to stand your ground
There’s always someone trying to keep you down
In a border town

Mamacita said, you can’t go down
Stay away from the white man’s world
She drew the line at the edge of town
For her little dark-haired girl
But Carmelita she had other plans
And her life had just begun

She ran away with a black-eyed man
And he left her with a black-eyed son

CHORUS:
And the world goes ‘round
And it’s hard enough to stand your ground
There’s always someone trying to keep you down
In a border town

INSTRUMENTAL: Cmaj7 C Am7 Am Cmaj7 C Cmaj7 C Am7 Am Cmaj7

Carmelita, now she’s settling down
She’s not so free and wild
She rides a bus all the way across town
To love somebody else’s child
Shows up each morning right on time
And at six o’clock she’s gone

She keeps her distance and she toes the line
‘Cause she knows where it’s been drawn

CHORUS:
And the world goes ‘round
And it’s hard enough to stand your ground
There’s always someone trying to keep you down
In a border town (in a border town)
In a border town

OUTRO: Cmaj7 C Am7 Am Cmaj7 C Am7 Am

INTRO: G

Are you lonely, are you crying

Are those teardrops in your eyes
Is it more blues, is it bad news
Is it a curse, or a blessing in disguise

Did you leave her, do you love her

Have you said your last goodbyes
Is it over, are you sorry
Or could it be a blessing in disguise

It’s the scars that make you stronger

It’s the hard times make you wise
It’s the sweet things only time brings
That arrive like a blessing in disguise

Clouds roll by and bring the rain
Tears will dry, ease the pain, ohhhh

INTERLUDE: G

Let me be your silver lining
Shining through like a blessing in disguise
Shining through like a blessing in disguise

I built this house with my bare hands
On the shores of Louisian
Took my sweet cher Jolie-Ann
For my own, my very own

Now every man has got his pride
I tried to shelter and provide
But I can’t stop this poison tide
Rolling in, rolling in

CHORUS:
Now I’ve nothing left to give her
No answer to her prayers
Black ribbons on the water
Black ribbons for her hair

Then came the wind, then came the rain
We defied that hurricane
And we built this house again
Stone by stone, stone by stone

But in the gulf of Mexico
Some five thousand feet below
Oh, the devil’s blood it flows
On and on, on and on

CHORUS:
I’ve nothing left to give her
No answer to her prayers
Black ribbons on the water
Black ribbons for her hair

INSTRUMENTAL: Am D Am D G Am

Oh, how her eyes they used to shine
Fairest in Evangeline
Now they stare so cold and blind
Through my soul, oh lord, my soul

CHORUS:
She was tangled in the salt-grass
Not a bullet left to spare
Black ribbons on the water
Black ribbons for her hair
Black ribbons on the water
Black ribbons for her hair

OUTRO: Am D Am D G Am (3x)

Here’s the passing hammer-on riffs:
[Em/A] [Em/B]

e |---0--0---0----0--0--0---| e |---0--0---0------|
B |---0--0---0----0--0--0---| B |---0--0---0------|
G |---0--0---0-h2-2--2-p0---| G |---0--0---0------|
D |---2--2---2----------2---| D |---2--2---2------|
A |---2--2------------------| A |---2--2---0-h2---|
E |---0--0------------------| E |---0--0----------|

e |---0--0---0--0---| e |---1--1---1--1---|
B |---1--1---1--1---| B |---1--1---1--1---|
G |---0--0---0--0---| G |---2--2---0-h2---|
D |---2--2---0-h2---| D |---3--3---3--3---|
A |---3--3---3--3---| A |---3--3---3--3---|
E |---3--3---3--3---| E |---1--1---1--1---|

Chord names and fret positions are relative to the capo:
Em 022000 F 133211
Esus4 022200 Fsus2 133011
C 332010 D xx0232
Cadd2 330010 Em/A x02000
h hammer-on Em/B x22000

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[Verse 1]
The blackbirds came at dusk and they roosted in the cane,
Raised such a ruckus, that it shook my windowpane,
And I’m covered up in dirt, and I stink of kerosene,
And no matter what I do, I can’t get clean! | / / / /__/ |

[Verse 2]
Last thing I remember was your footsteps in the hall,
Whisky in your voice, and a shotgun on the wall,
Now there’s shadows in the shadows, there’s trouble in the cane,
And there’s things you do ..that you just can’t ex – plain!

Un – easy lies the head, un – faithful is the heart,
Un – grateful, and un – lucky, and un – true,
And no one saw me come, and no one saw me go,[Em/A][Em/B]
Only the blackbirds, …and you!

[Verse 3]
Come harvest in the cane fields the sky turns black with smoke,
So I took our father’s gun, and a heavy piece of rope,
And I left you lying there, like rotten fruit upon the ground,
And I lit a torch, and I burned the whole thing down!

Un – easy lies the head, un – faithful is the heart,
Un – grateful, and un – lucky, and un – true,
And no one saw me come, and no one saw me go,[Em/A][Em/B]
Only the blackbirds, …and you!

Ah, ah, ah---! Ah, ah - ah, ah---!

Ah, ah, ah---! Ah, ah - ah---!

| / / / /__/ | / / / /__/ |

[Verse 4]
Our father was a farmer, he planted fields of cane,
He planted seeds of evil, and we harvested the shame,
Oh, but I’m the last one standing, there’s no one left to tell,
And when it’s my time I'll see you both in hell!

Un – easy lies the head, un – faithful is the heart,
Un – grateful, and un – lucky, and un – true,
And no one saw me come, and no one saw me go,[Em/A][Em/B]
Only the blackbirds, …and you!

And no one saw me come, and no one saw me go,[Em/A][Em/B]
Only the blackbirds …and you—–!

| / / / /__/ | / / / / | / ||