Uncle Lem
By Merle Haggard
Written by Glenn Martin
Album: If We Make It Through December (1974)
Tabbed by Larry Mofle
9/5/2016

C                                                                G
Ladies of the Garden Club say his home is just a disgrace to the town
       G                                                              C
If the mayor wants re-elected, he'd better pass some laws and tear it down
     C                                                           F
They wanna' cover it with flowers, maybe even plant some Dogwood trees
  G                                                                       C
I guess that they've forgotten when we were kids, what that place used to be

I know it's just a shanty now but Lord that place was built with human tears
For it's the home of Uncle Lem who was born and raised and lived there ninety years
There's not a boy in this ole' town that had'nt stopped for water at his well
Or sat on his porch in the evenin' and listened to the stories that he'd tell


Chorus:
    G                                          F                C
His hair was the color of cottonfields And his skin was old and brown
    F                   C                                G
And he was born in that rundown shack before there was a town
   F                                            C
He bought that shack and piece of earth for the highest price you'd pay
    C                                    G              C 
His Mom was bought and sold there, Uncle Lem was born a slave


(Spoken:)
The mayor and some ladies of the Garden Club went out to that old shack
To tell Uncle Lem that he'd have to find another place to live
But they found him there in that old broken down rockin' chair and on an
old brown paper sack, they found his will. Now I wanna leave my old
shotgun to the fine mayor of this town for I remember when he was just
a little fella' he used to follow me around. Lord, I wish I had more to
leave to my friends that I love, but, Lord, all I've got's this old shack and
piece of earth and I want it to go to the ladies of the Garden Club.

Chorus