3/4 Time
(Blank notes X 8)
C C E E F F C C
C C E E F F F F
C E
The first time that I saw him was late at night
F C
He was tall and dark and lean
C E
A silhouette wearing a Stetson hat
F C
He said his name is Stagger Lee
C E
He spent his day working the shipping yard
F C
And his night outside the bar
C E
With an open hat and an empty flask,
F C
He would sing and play guitar
C C E E F F C C
C C E E F F F F
C E
And I had been working the docks at night
F C
With the likes of Billy Lyons
C E
For a cut of my take, he would keep me safe
F C
And keep the Johns in line
C E
They came and they went, but the single constant
F C
Was Stag's distant song
C E
So when I gave up on Billy and I needed rent,
F C
He let me sing along
C C E E F F C C
C C E E F F C D7
4/4 Time
G F# E C G
And my friends they say that you better stay away
E C G
That Stag's got a reputation
E C G
But he's always done me right and he'd never start a fight
Am Bm C D
With someone who didn't deserve it
Am
And on that fateful night
Am Bm C
In the Bucket of Blood
C6
With the likes of Billy Lyons
C5 B5 Am
We weren't looking for trouble,
Am Bm c
We were drinking and dancing
D C
In came Billy pointing fingers and questions
Am Am Bm C
Things got heavy, Billy pulled out a knife
And it glimmered in the dim bar light
F
But Stag kept me safe, so he carried a pistol
Am
And Billy came at him, he was only defensive
F
Billy got shot and stag got busted
A5 C F
They took him to the gallows and they called it justice
Switch back to 3/4 time
A C C E E F F C C
C C E E F F C C
C E
With his empty flask and his Stetson hat,
F C
He is six feet underground
C E
But in the quiet times at the dock at night
F C
I can still hear his sound
C C E E F F C C
C C E E F F F F C