Intro: A A A A
Verse:
A D
When I get off of this mountain, you know where I want to go
A D(1) E(1)
Straight down the Mississippi River to the Gulf of Mexico
A D
To Lake Charles, Louisianna, little Bessie, a girl who I once knew
A D(1) E(1)
She told me just to come on by if there”s anything that she could do
Chorus:
A
Up on Cripple Creek, she sends me
D
If I spring a leak, she mends me
E
I don”t have to speak, she defends me
F#m(1) G(1)
A drunkard”s dream if I ever did see one
Verse:
A D
Good luck had just stung me, to the race track I did go
A D(1) E (1)
She bet on one horse to win and I bet on another to show
A D
The odds were in my favor, I had them five to one
A D(1) E(1)
That nag to win came around the track, sure enough she had won
Chorus:
A
Up on Cripple Creek, she sends me
D
If I spring a leak, she mends me
E
I don”t have to speak, she defends me
F#m(1) G(1)
A drunkard”s dream if I ever did see one
Verse:
A D
I took up all of my winnings and I gave my little Bessie half
A D(1) E(1)
She tore it up and threw it in my face just for a laugh
A D
Now there”s one thing in the whole wide world I sure would like to see
A D(1) E(1)
That”s when that little love of mine dips her doughnut in my tea
Chorus:
A
Up on Cripple Creek, she sends me
D
If I spring a leak, she mends me
E
I don”t have to speak, she defends me
F#m(1) G(1)
A drunkard”s dream if I ever did see one
Verse:
A D
Me and my mate we were back at the shack, we had Spike Jones on the box
A D(1) E(1)
She says, “I can”t take the way he sings, but I love to hear him talk”
A D
Now that just gave my heart a throb to the bottom of my feet
A D (1) E(1)
And I swore as I took another pull, my Bessie can”t be beat
Chorus:
A
Up on Cripple Creek, she sends me
D
If I spring a leak, she mends me
E
I don”t have to speak, she defends me
F#m(1) G(1)
A drunkard”s dream if I ever did see one
Break: A(1) D(1) (repeat) x4
Verse:
A D
There”s a flood out in California and up north it”s freezing cold
A D(1) E(1)
And this living on the road is getting pretty old
A D
So I guess I”ll call up my big mama, tell her I”ll be rolling in
A D(1) E(1)
But you know, deep down, I”m kind of tempted to go and see my Bessie again
Chorus:
A
Up on Cripple Creek, she sends me
D
If I spring a leak, she mends me
E
I don”t have to speak, she defends me
F#m(1) G(1)
A drunkard”s dream if I ever did see one
Outro: A(1) D(1) (repeat) x8 End on A