Outside The Nashville City Limits by Joan Baez
G Em
Outside the Nashville city limits, a friend and I did drive
G Em
On a day in early winter, I was glad to be alive
C D G Em
We went to see some friends of his, who lived upon a farm
C D G Em
Strange and gentle country folk, who wished nobody harm
C D C D
Fresh-cut sixty acres, eight cows in the barn
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But the thing that I remember, on that cold day in December
C D G
Was that my eyes they did brim over, as we talked.
In the slowest drawl I had ever heard, the man said "Come with me,
If y'all wanna see the prettiest place, in all of Tennessee."
He poured us each a glass of wine, and a-walking we did go,
Along fallen leaves and crackling ice, where a tiny brook did flow
He knew every inch of the land, and Lord he loved it so
But the thing that I remember, on that cold day in December
Was that my eyes were brimming over, as we walked.
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He set me down upon a stone, beside a running spring
He talked in a voice so soft and clear, like the waters I heard sing
He said "We searched quite a time, for a place to call our own
There was just me and Mary John, and now I guess we're home."
I looked at the ground and wondered, how many years they each had roamed
And Lord I do remember, on that day in late December
How my eyes kept brimming over, as we talked
(Key Change)
A
As we walked.
A F#m
And standing there with outstretched arms, he said to me "You know,
A F#m
I can't wait till the heavy storms, cover the ground with snow,
D E A F#m
And there on the pond the watercress, is all that don't turn white,
D E A F#m
When the sun is high you squint your eyes, and look at the hills so bright."
D E D E
And nodding his head my friend said, "It seems like overnight,
F#m C#m D C#m
That the leaves come out so tender, at the turning of the winter"
D E A
I thought the skies they would brim over, as we talked.