Jack White - Carolina Drama

Am ( hammer on and off the D and G string )
i’m not sure if there’s a point to this story
C B Am
but i’m going to tell it again
Am
so many other people try to tell the tale
C B Am
not one of them knows the end .
Am
it was a junk – house in south carolina
C B Am
held a boy the age of ten
Am
along with his older brother billy
C B Am
and their mother and her boyfriend
D
who was a triple loser with some blue tattoos
D
that were given to him when he was young
Am
and a drunk temper that was easy to lose
C B Em Am
and thank god he didn’t own a gun
Am
well , billy woke up in the back of his truck
C B Am
took a minute to open his eyes
he took a peep into the back of the house
and found himself a big surprise
D
he didn’t see his brother but there was his mother
with her red – headed head in her hands
Am
while the boyfriend had his gloves wrapped around an old
C B Em Am
priest trying to choke the man
( C B Em G )
( F ) softly
( Am G F ) ( softly gently 2x )

Am
billy looked up from the window to the truck
C B Am
threw up , and had to struggle to stand
Am
he saw that red – necked bastard with a hammer
C B Am
turn the priest into a shell of a man
D
the priest was putting up the fight of his life
D
but he was old and he was bound to lose
Am
the boyfriend hit as hard as he could
C B Em Am
and knocked the priest right down to his shoes
Am
well , now billy knew but never actually met
C B Am
the preacher lying there in the room
Am
he heard himself say , “that must be my Daddy”
C G Am
then he knew what he was gonna do
D
billy got up enough courage , took it up
D
and grabbed the first blunt thing he could find
Am
it was a cold , glass bottle of milk
C G Em Am
that got delivered every morning at nine
( C B Em G )
( F )
( Am G F )
( Am G F )
( Em )
Am
billy broke in and saw the blood on the floor , and
Am
he turned around and put the lock on the door
Dm
he looked dead into the boyfriend’s eye
E
his mother was a ghost , too upset to cry , then
Am
he took a step toward the man on the ground
Am
from his mouth trickled out a little audible sound
Dm
he heard the boyfriend shout , “get out!”
E
and billy said , “not till i know what this is all about”
Am
“well , this preacher here was attacking your mama”
Am
but billy knew just who was starting the drama
Dm
so billy took dead aim at his face
E
and smashed the bottle on the man who left his dad in disgrace , and
Am
the white milk dripped down with the blood , and the
Am
boyfriend fell down dead for good
Dm
right next to the preacher who was gasping for air
E
and billy shouted , “Daddy , why’d you have to come back here?”
Am
his mama reached behind the sugar and honey , and
Am
pulled out an envelope filled with money
Dm
“your Daddy gave us this , ” she collapsed in tears
E
“he’s been paying all the bills for years”
Am
“mama , let’s put this body underneath the trees
Am
and put Daddy in the truck and head to tennessee”
Dm
just then , his little brother came in
E
holding the milk man’s hat and a bottle of gin singing ,
Am
well now you heard another side to the story
C B Am
but you wanna know how it ends?
Am
if you must know , the truth about the tale
C B Am
go and ask the milkman