Why I Sing The Blues Chords

Lyrics & chords

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

[Verse 1]
[C]Everybody wants to know
Why I sing the blues
Yes, I say [F]everybody wanna know
Why I [C]sing the blues
Well, I've been a[G]round a long time
[F]I really have pai[C]d my due[G]s

[Verse 2]
When I [C]first got the blues
They brought me over on a ship
Men were standing over me
And a lot more with the whip
And [F]everybody wanna know
Why I [C]sing the blues
Well, I've been a[G]round a long time
[F]I really have pai[C]d my due[G]s

[Verse 3]
I've [C]laid in a ghetto flat
Cold and numb
I heard the rats tell the bedbugs
To give the roaches some
[F]Everybody wanna know
Why I'm [C]singing the blues
Yes, I've been a[G]round a long time
[F]People, I've pai[C]d my due[G]s

[Verse 4]
I [C]stood in line
Down at the County Hall
I heard a man say, "We're gonna build
Some new apartments for y'all"
And [F]everybody wanna know
Yes, they wanna know
Why I'm [C]singing the blues
Yes, I've been a[G]round a long, long time
[F]Yes, I've really, really pai[C]d my due[G]s

[Solo 1]
[C][C][C][C]
[F][F][C][C]
[G][F][C][G]

[Verse 5]
My [C]kid's gonna grow up
Gonna grow up to be a fool
'Cause they ain't got no more room
No more room for him in school
And [F]everybody wanna know
Everybody wanna know
Why I'm [C]singing the blues
I say I've been a[G]round a long time
[F]Yes, I've really pai[C]d some due[G]s

[Verse 6]
Yeah, you know the [C]company told me
Guess you're born to lose
Everybody around me, people
It seems like everybody got the [F]blues
But I had 'em a long time
I've [C]really, really paid my dues
You know I ain't a[G]shamed of it, people
[F]I just love to sin[C]g my blu[G]es

[Solo 2]
[C][C][C][C]
[F][F][C][C]
[G][F][C][G]

[Verse 7]
I [C]walk through the cities, people
On my bare feet
I had a fill of catfish and chitterlings
Up and down Beal Street
[F]You know I'm singing the blues
Yes, I really
I [C]just have to sing my blues
I've been a[G]round a long time
[F]People, I've really, really pai[C]d my due[G]s

[Verse 8]
Now [C]Father time is catching up with me
Gone is my youth
I look in the mirror everyday
And let it tell me the [F]truth
I'm singing the blues
[C]Mm, I just have to sing the blues
I've been a[G]round a long time
[F]Yes, yes, I've really pai[C]d some due[G]s

[Solo 3]
[C][C][C][C]
[F][F][C][C]
[G][F][C][G]

[Verse 9]
Yeah, they [C]told me everything
Would be better out in the country
Everything was fine
I caught me a bus uptown, baby
And [F]every people, all the people
Got the same trouble as mine
I got the [C]blues, huh huh
I say I've been a[G]round a long time
[F]I've really pai[C]d some due[G]s

[Verse 10]
One more time, fellows!
[C]Blind man on the corner
Begging for a dime
The rollers come and caught him
And throw him in the jail for a [F]crime
I got the blues
[C]Mm, I'm singing my blues
I've been a[G]round a long time
[F]Mm, I've really pai[C]d some due[G]s

[Verse 11]
Oh I [C]thought I'd go down to the welfare
To get myself some grits and stuff
But a lady stand up and she said
"You haven't been around long e[F]nough"
That's why I got the blues
[C]Mm, the blues
I say, I've been a[G]round a long time
[F]I've really, really pai[C]d my due[G]s

[Solo 4]
[C][C][C][C]
[F][F][C][C]
[G][F][C][G]
[Repeat and fade]