Yet another deceptively simple and fantastic show by OCMS. One of their best
written songs, I think. And a bit of trivia, the main character Fukie or Fuqie in
the song is a take on the name of slide guitarist Critter Fuqua.
Song: Big Time in the Jungle
Album: O.C.M.S.
Tabbed by A Rolling Stone
blondeonblondefan@hotmail.com
Verse 1-
D C G
Down in Eutaw, Alabama in Nineteen Sixty-Five
D
A young man ‘bout 21,
C G
no different than you or I
Am
He’s catchin’ catfish,
D
and gettin’ drunk
Am
But Uncle Sam called,
D
he called him up,
G
Sent him out to Vietnam,
Am
That young man,
D
Got his life turned upside down,
Turned his smile into a frown,
Robbed that king of his crown,
G
For an ideal he didn’t even know about,
[ Tab from: https://www.guitartabs.cc/tabs/o/old_crow_medicine_show/big_time_in_the_jungle_crd.html ]
Verse 2-
He was gamblin’ at the wagon,when that army man showed up,
And he flashed that pen and paper,
And ole Fukie he signed up,
There’s gonna be a big time,
In the jungle,
Gonna be a firefight,
Gonna be a rumble,
Send me out to Vietnam,
I’ll fight ten men,
I got nothin’ left in the States for me,
I wanna see the world you see,
I know that Uncle Sam needs me,
To fight for an ideal I know nothing about.
Verse 3-
Oh the drop point was dusty and the drill sergeant was loud,
And he could not see the corpses,
for the ragin’ dust cloud
Grab your duffle bags,
head to the checkpoint
Welcome to Vietnam boys,
you’re in for a hell of a fight,
Take it from the ones who know.
The army moves slow,
Hurry up and wait,
don’t sleep late,
And learn to hate your brother,
Before you hate your foe,
Verse 4*-
On patrol out in the rice fields,
Them choppers flew low,
Glancing for the hand signal,
To tell you where to go,
Then the bombs started fallin’
And they pounded his brain,
And he thought about Eutaw ,
And who was to blame,
For sendin’ him to Vietnam,
*This verse ends earlier than the rest of the verses, but still utilizes the same
chord progression albeit a few chords shorter.
