The Man From God Knows Where

Am                               G            Am
Come gather round me children, a story I will tell
Am                                   G            Am
I've been around since Jesus met the woman at the well
C                           Am              C             Am
I've walked these roads ten thousand years, I'm a ragtime millionaire
Am                                       G                      Am
I'm the rake and the ramblin saint. I am the man from God knows where

Am                                  G                 Am
Oh, they hung me in Downpatrick, up near St.Patrick's tomb
Am                                          G                        Am
But my ghost rose up in the peat fire smoke toward the rising of the moon
C                           Am                C                Am
Now as I drift through your villages, all the maidens stop and stare
Am                                          G                  Am
"There goes old Tom, the vagabond, he's the man from God knows where"

C                       Am         C                   G
So it's rise up all you ancestors, and dance upon your graves
C                      Am           C                Am
I've come to hear your voices, now, so maybe I'll be saved
Am                                     G              Am
Cursed are we who forget the past, but pray and don't despair
Am                                               G                  Am
My song might haunt your dreams tonight, I'm the man from God knows where

Am                                         G   Am
I've slept beneath your bridges, near your oil refineries
Am                                G           Am
I've gambled on your river boats, Shenandoah; Kanakee
C                            Am            C                               Am
I'm the homeless lad, I'm an orphan child, leaves of grass sewn through my hair
Am                                       G                  Am
Yeah, me and old Walt Whitman, we're the men from God knows where

Am                                        G           Am
I've rode the rods on steam trains with a banjo on my knee
Am                                 G                 Am
While the voice of Stephen Foster, whisperd songs to me
C                                Am                C                       Am
Of the storefront church and the chain gang choir; Black sorrow filled the air
Am                                              G                  Am
Then Stephen died on a doss house floor, like a man from God knows where

Am                                        G                Am
I've heard the sound of Indian drums I've heard the bugles blow
Am                            G                Am
Before they re'wrote history, into a Wild West Show
C                    Am       C                     Am
My kin sailed toward America, to steal their Indian ground
Am                      G                      Am
They passed Bill Cody's circus ships, European bound

Am                                  G                Am
So lock up all your daughters, your whiskey and your gold
Am                                  G                       Am
I have come to claim my bounty, for the lies that I've been told
    C                     Am               C                     Am
And as I look out on this crowd tonight, I see most of you don't care
Am                                             G                  Am
Come lift your glass, reveal your past, to the man from God knows where