johnny ace is dead Chords

Lyrics & chords

[Intro 1]
[Em]

[Verse 1]
Down in [Em]Houston,
Texas on a Christmas night
With a gun in his hand and
his name up in lights
He was young and handsome,
the Prince of the Blues
In a sharkskin suit and alligator shoes
He was flirting with some women
who had come backstage
He said, "Ladies,
want to see me play a wild little game?"
But Big Mama Thornton said,
"Go sing Your Song
And put that damn thing down
before something goes wrong"
[A]Big Mama

[Verse 2]
cried,
"Dear Lord," Big [Em]Mama said,
He put [A]a 2[Em]2 pistol right
[A]up to [Em]his head
Then [B]he smiled at the ladies
Now Johnny [Em]Ace is dead

[Verse 3]
[Em]
The band leader set his saxophone down
And said, "I think I better split before
the cops come 'round"
While the crowd in the theater
slowly drifted away
With their heads hung low,
not sure of what to say
But Big Don Robey,
the record company man
With big diamond rings on
both of his hands
Said, "I'm gonna send him back
to Memphis in a refrigerated truck
Cause Johnny Ace is gonna

[Verse 4]
make me a million bucks."
[A]Big Mama cried,
"Dear Lord," Big Mama [Em]said,
He put [A]a 22 pistol right up to h[Em]is head
Then [B]he smiled at the ladies
Now [Bm]Johnny Ace [Em]is dead

[Interlude 1]
[Em][A]
[Em]
[B][Em]
[A][Em]

[Verse 5]
When Johnny came home to [Em]Memphis,
Tennessee
Everyone on Beale Street came [B]out to see
[Em]There were pimps and gamblers,
husbands and wives,
Women young and old all
came to say goodbye
And as the choirs sand and
the preachers [B]prayed
[Em]Five thousand mourners
marched him to his grave
Well, there may be a Heaven
and there may be a Hell,
No one knows for sure but now
Johnny Ace knows damn [A]well.

[Verse 6]
Big Mama cried,
"Dear Lord," Big [Em]Mama said,
He put [A]a 22 pistol right up to h[Em]is head
Then [B]he smiled at [A]the ladies

[Outro 1]
Now Johnny Ace is dead
[Em]