Rock Salt And Nails

Key: G Words & Music

No Capo by Bruce “Utah” Philips
medium-slow

# 3
˙.
G C

& 4 œ œ œ œ œ œ œ ˙
By the banks of the riv - er

# G C G C

& Ó œ œ œ œ œ œ œœ ˙ ˙.
where the wil - lows hang down

# ÓG œ œ œ
Em
˙ ˙.
& œ œ œ
And the wild birds all war - ble

# œC œ. œ œ œ œ ˙.
G C
∑
& J
with their high lone - some sound

# G
∑ œ œ
Em
œ ˙ ˙.
& œ
Down in some hol - low

# ˙C œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ ˙
G C

& ∑
where the wa - ters run cold

# G
œ œ ˙
F
˙.
& Ó œ œ œ œ œ
It was there I first lis - tened
 #
G

œ œ œ œ. œ ˙
C C G

& Ó œ œ œ ˙. Ó
to the lies that you told

By the banks of the river Lord I lie here each night

where the willows hang down all alone and I weep
And the wild birds all warble Nothing ain’t worse
with their high lonesome sound than a night without sleep
Down in some hollow I walk out alone
where the waters run cold under the sky
It was there I first listened Too empty to sing
to the lies that you told too lonesome to cry
If the young men were blackbirds If the ladies were blackbirds
the young men were thrushes and the young men were thrushes
I would lay by the hours I’d lie there for hours
in the cold rainy marshes in the cold rainy marshes
If the young men were squirrels If the ladies were squirrels
with high bushy tails with high bushy tails
I’d fill up my shotgun I’d fill up my shotgun
With rock salt and nails with rock salt and nails
Now I lie in my bed I’d fill up my shotgun
and I see your sweet face with rock salt and nails
The past I remember
time cannot erase
The letters you wrote me
were written in shame
And I know that your conscience © On Strike Music
echoes my name All rights reserved   Used by permission