The Ballad Of Floyd Collins

E           Em                      A7
Deep in the land of the hollows an' creeks
             Em                    G
If'n you git lost you git lost fer weeks
              Em7                   A
Listen to the tale of a man who got lost
               Em7       G       A
A hundred feet under the winter frost


[Verse 2]
    Em                    A7
Now Floyd was a reasonin' man;
                Em                  G
He knew what he wanted an' he had a plan
               Em7             A
He was jes' as smart as he was brave;
             Em7          G       A
He was gonna find him the perfect cave


[Chorus]
     C  C7        G                  A
Even Floyd knew somethin' wasn't right
      C  C7       G            D
He was suff'rin' nightmares at night


[Verse 3]
              Em                   A7
But he didn't worry 'bout what he dreamed;
                  Em                 G
Things was goin' good or so it seemed
                      Em7               A       A7
Went lookin' fer his fortune under the ground...
                 Em7       G      A7       E   E
Sure enough his fortune is what he found



Reprise


[Verse 1]
Dm                                  G
The air was cold and the ground was wet
              Dm                   F
I was just as muddy as a man could get
           Dm                      G
Hadn’t any light but a little oil lantern
              Dm                            G
Got you in so tight that you know you can’t turn back

                Dm                    G
I was slippin' round on my belly an' knees
                 Dm                   F
I could feel my fingertips about to freeze
               Dm                     G
I could almost see where the prisoner lay
              F                       G
Just about t' holler when I heard him pray


[PD-C horus 1]
      A#          C             G
Oh my lord, have mercy on my soul
             A#   F                 C
Don’t let me die alone in this dark hole
    A#      C            G
And when my savior is at hand
        A#                  F            C
I’ll be sure to meet him on top of the land


[Chorus]
  Dm                                        G
I won’t go diggin' round in the hollows and holes
              Dm                 F
I’ma leave it up to the hogs and moles
           Dm                   G
Never set another foot inside a cave
              F                   G
If I make it out of this lonesome grave

     C        A#          F
And there he remains all alone
                   Dm     G   Dm    G
In a cold Kentucky hillside
C         A#          F
There he remains all alone
                   Dm     G   Dm    G
In a cold Kentucky hillside


[Verse 2]
Dm                               G
He was layin' still like he was dead
               Dm              F
Water drippin' down on top his head
                 Dm              G
Seven whole days he hadn’t had a crumb
              F             G
His eyes were sunk and wearisome

    Dm                                 G
He swallowed what I had right outta my hand
                   Dm                     F
Then he took some coffee from an old tin can
                     Dm                 G
I told we would soon dig him outta this place
             F                     G
And a little smile goes across his face


[PD-C horus 2]
        A#         C                G
He said boy, thank god that you are here
       A#      F         C
Now I know my rescue is near
    A#       C             G
And when my time comes to die
        A#                  F             C
I’ll be sure to do it where I can see the sky


[Chorus]
  Dm                                        G
I won’t go diggin' round in the hollows and holes
              Dm                 F
I’ma leave it up to the hogs and moles
           Dm                   G
Never set another foot inside a cave
              F                   G
If I make it out of this lonesome grave

     C        A#          F
And there he remains all alone
                   Dm     G   Dm    G
In a cold Kentucky hillside
C         A#          F
There he remains all alone
                   Dm     G   Dm    G
In a cold Kentucky hillside