Tennee, Mama, & Desiree Chords

Lyrics & chords

[Intro 1]
[C][G][C][G][C]

[Verse 1]
[C]Desiree rides the highway
like tomorrow's the end of [Am]the race
With [G]men in her rearview,
like roadkill with grins on their [C]face
And the road is an old friend with curves
that she knows she can [Am]take
And [G]the wind whips her face like
a hot shower after a mistake
[C]She says, "Lo[F]ve is for being
reborn or for waiting to [C]die"
She hadn't touched it in [G]years - - she still

[Interlude 1]
remembers the tears
[C][G][C]

[Verse 2]
Tennee was [C]named for a place
he still never [Am]has seen
Where [G]the tops are all rocky and the
pastures a little more [C]green
And where his Mama was born and returned
to when Tennee was [Am]four
At [G]daybreak one morning with a
kiss and a note on the door
[C]It said, "I'm sor[F]ry for going,
but the sky's just too big for me [C]here
My heart's buried in snow,
[G]and I'm dying for home"

[Interlude 2]
[C][G][C]

[Verse 3]
Tennee grew [C]fast and grew strong
and grew hungry [Am]and mean
With his [G]Pa in Montana where the milk
and the honey was [C]weened
And he grew without guidance from
home or from heaven [Am]above
And [G]he drifted towards danger and
towards strangers who might fill him with [C]love
But the [F]edge got too narrow til it
dropped like the blade of his [C]knife
Ironic enough,
[G]the judge said "sentenced to life"
[C][G]

[Verse 4]
[C]
Desiree left from Westby,
she'd been there as long as she [Am]dared
[G]A week and a half,
and til the man with the strong fingers [C]cared
She was doin 'bout sixty when a letter
flew up from [Am]the floor
She [G]read it, and sped up,
and tossed it for the wind to endure
[C]It said, "Da[F]rlin I love you,
and darlin I'm with you
Though [C]I know I won't see you [F]again
I'll [C]think of you often,
[G]remember you dearly
And I [F]hope you find peace in [G]the

[Interlude 3]
end"
[G][C][G][C]

[Verse 5]
Tennee liked [C]the roadwork cause
the air always struck him as [Am]free
And his [G]vision could drift from the ground
where the guards said to [C]be
And though the crew was always changing,
they were family if just for [Am]a time
Cause there's [G]nothing like capture for a man
to release what's in[C]side[G][C]
And [F]while Tennee was dreamin,
his cellmate pulled a note from [C]the weeds
And with a gulp and a glance,
[G]he slipped it into his pants
[C][G]

[Verse 6]
[C]When they got back for lockdown,
Tennee's cellmate pulled a slip from [Am]the bars
He said [G]"I guess while we's out there,
this letter has come from your [C]ma"
Tennee was shakin, he sat back,
said "Read it to [Am]me - -
School was [G]never my thing,
and my eyes are too tired to [C]see"
It said, [F]"Darlin I love you,
and darlin I'm with you
Though I [C]know I won't see you [F]again
I'll [C]think of you often,
[G]re member you dearly
And [F]I hope you find peace in the end"
[G]

[Interlude 4]
[C][G][C]

[Verse 7]
Tennee was [C]up as the
sun first rustled the [Am]leaves
Cause there [G]ain't never knowing just
the first light and the faith to be[C]lieve
Peace of mind ain't security,
it's learning to face the mis[Am]takes
It's still un[G]settling to wonder, in jail,
who'll be there when you [C]wake
You know [F]scars don't heal pretty but
forgiveness can soften their [C]pain
Like a kiss on [G]the head,

[Outro 1]
from a ghost left for dead.
[C][G][C][G][C]