[Intro]
C G C G
[Verse]
C G
Ponies in the sun
Am G
The race is soon beginning
C G
My father bet the family fortune
Am G
On a sleek brown horse
Am E
My father had a hunch
F
We gave up lunch
Dm E Am
So Daddy could make a wager
C G
Ma would scoff
G
She would scoff
G
Hear her scoff
[Chorus]
C
And they're off!
Am
(La la la la la)
G
Yeah, they're off!
F
(La la la la la)
C
And they move in a herd
Am
Like a four letter word
G
And they're off!
E
(La la la la la)
Am G F D
Tickets float to the ground
C Am
And the band starts to play
G
As the horses go round
C G
And they're off!
C G
[Verse]
C G
Mommy sat and cried
Am G
But Dad was unaffected
G
He said
C G
"Have you ever had a better two minutes
Am G
In the last three years?"
G
She said
Am E
"But Joe, the dumb horse lost!"
E
He said
F Dm E
"Sometimes joy has a terrible cost
Am C Am
I know that"
G
We would laugh
G
We would sneer
G
We would scoff
[Chorus]
C
And they're off!
Am
(La la la la la)
G
Yeah, they're off!
F
(La la la la la)
C
Mommy's biting his neck
Am
As they roll on the deck
G
And they're off
E
(La la la la la)
Am G F D
There is blood on the ground
C Am
And the band starts to play
G
As the horses go round
And they're off!
[Bridge]
G#
Isn't life funny?
People lose money
Cm
And have fun
G#
Betting, of course, is
Hell on the horses
G
And on families where the betting is done
G
It's a joke to believe someone's won
[Verse]
C G
All we did was fight
Am G
Plus they discussed the weather
C G
My father bet the family fortune
Am G
Till it disappeared
Am E
We also laughed a lot
F E Am D
That was a thing I often forgot to tell you
G
But it's true
G
Yes, it's true
G
It is true
[Chorus]
C
And he's off!
Am
(La la la la la)
G
Daddy's off!
F
(La la la la la)
C
We get letters from Maine
Am
Where he tries to explain
G
Why he's off
E
(La la la la la)
Am G F D
What was lost was not found
C Am
And the band starts to play
G
As the horses go round
[Chorus]
C
And they're off!
Am
(I hear the bell at the starting gate)
G
They are off!
F
(We're salivating as we're moving, moving down the track)
C
And they move in a herd
Am
Like a four letter word
G
And they're off!
E
(Coming down the stretch)
Am G F D
There is blood on the ground
C Am
And the band starts to play
G
As the horses go round
[Outro]
Am
And round and round
Am
And round and round
Am
And round and round
Am
And round and round
Am
And round and round
G
And round and round
And round and round
C
And they're off!