Standard (EADGBE)
Intro
I remember the smell of the creosote plant,
when we'd have to eat on Easter with my crazy old uncle and aunt.
They lived in a big house Antebellum style,
and the wind would blow across the old bayou,
and I was a tranquil little child.
Chorus
Life was just a tire swing.
'Jambalaya' was the only song I could sing.
Black-berry pickin', eatin' fried chicken,
and I never knew a thing about pain;
Life was just a tire swing.
2.
In a few summers my folks packed me off to camp;
yeah, me and my cousin' Baxter in our pup tent with a lamp.
And in a few days Baxter went home, and he left me by myself.
And I knew that I'd stay, it was better that way,
and I could get along without any help.
(2nd chorus)
Life was just a tire swing.
'Jambalaya' was the only song I could sing.
Chasin' after sparrows with rubber-tipped arrows,
knowin' I could never hurt a thing,
and life was just a tire swing.
(then continue)
And I've never been west of New Orleans nor east of Pensacola.
My only contact with the outside world was an R.C.A. Victrola.
And Elvis would sing and then I'd dream about expensive cars,
and who would've figured twenty years later
I'd be rubbin' shoulders with the stars.
Life was just a tire swing.
3.
Then the other morning on some Illinois road
I fell asleep at the wheel,
But was quickly wakened up by a 'Ma Bell' telephone pole,
and a bunch of Grant Wood faces screaming 'Is he still alive?',
But through the window I could see it hangin' from a tree,
and I knew that I had survived.
(3rd chorus)
Life was just a tire swing.
'Jambalaya's still the best song that I sing.
Black-berry pickin', eatin' fried chicken,
and I finally learned a lot about pain,
'cause life is just a tire swing.
Life was just a tire swing.
Chord chart:
- |xx3222| - |xx2222| - |xx2323| - |o2o1oo|
Bm - |xxo432| Cdim - |xx1212| Em7 - |o2oooo| Em - |o22ooo|
[This song is published in the book "The Songs of Jimmy Buffett"
by CPP/Belwin Music Company.]