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Steve Earle - Ellis Unit One (Chord)
Submitter: matellmon (173) on 2/11/02 4 comments
Month Views: 766 | Total Views: 10,962
Moderator: schnips | Report This Song?
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E
I was fresh out of the service 
       A
It was back in ‘82 
E                         B            A
I raised some Cain when I came back to town 
E
Meant to be all I could be 
A
Come home without a clue 
E                B              E
Married Dawn and had to settle down 
     E
So I hired on at the prison 
         A
Guess I always knew I would 
E                    B              A
Just like my dad and both my uncles done 
E
Worked on every cell block 
     A
Now, things're goin' good 
          E                 B          E
Then they transferred me to Ellis Unit One 
A     B
Swing low 
E     A
Swing low 
              B        E   A  B  E   A  B  E
Swing low and carry me home 
E                                      A
Now, my daddy used to talk about them long nights at the walls 
    E                B                 A
And how they used to strap ‘em in the chair 
E                                  A
The kids down from the college and they'd bring their beer ‘n all 
E                           B                 A
When the lights went out, a cheer rose in the air 
         E
I guess  folks just got too civilized 
A
Old Sparky's gatherin' dust 
E               B               A
No one wants to touch a smokin' gun 
E
Ehey got that injection  now
           A
They don't mind as much, I guess 
E               B7         E
Put ‘em down on Ellis Unit One 
A     B
Swing low 
E     A
Swing low 
              B        E  A  B  E   A   B   E 
Swing low and carry me home 
E
Well, I've seen ‘em fight like lions, boys 
A
I've seen 'em go like lambs 
E                           B                   A
And I've helped to drag ‘em when they could not stand 
E                                           A
And I've heard their mamas cryin' when they heard that big door slam 
E                      B                E
I've seen the victim's family's holdin' hands 
E                                        A
Last night I dreamed that I woke up with straps across my chest 
E                            B                  A
And something cold and black pullin' through my lungs 
E                                    A
Even Jesus couldn't save me though I know he did his best 
       E              B         E
But he don't live on Ellis Unit One 
A     B
Swing low 
E     A
Swing low 
              B        E
Swing low and carry me home 
A     B
Swing low 
E     A
Swing low 
              B        E
Swing low and carry me home 
 
 Comments (click here to add a non-facebook comment)
Steve actually plays this with a capo on the 2nd fret... so ya know what the chords would be E-D, A-G, B-A
-Drop_D_Blues | 6/25/2005
I'm gonna have to disagree with the poster above. You can clearly hear that Steve is playing E A and B here with no capo. I'm sure he plays it with a capo in concert (he almost always has that capo slapped on the 2nd fret), but I think to get that really deep alternating bass finger picking sound you should leave the capo off. It sounds alright either way, but you lose a lot of the menace of the recorded version when you play with the capo. listen real close to the song and you'll see what I mean.


-MrSuddath | 6/1/2008
Anyone know Elijah's Church from the Heartworn Highways movie/documentary ??
Please post, been looking everywhere for it!!!
-renfield | 6/4/2008
steve used a raised e tuning on this song. the capo is on the 2nd fret but he puts it on upside down so he can leave it off the top e string essentially giving him a drop d tuning except its in e
-mr151derful | 8/17/2008
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