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Little Houdini - Sage Francis
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Tabbed by: John Wu
Twitter: @johnnyhatchback
Tuning: Standard
Intro:
G (first four bars just strum G, use the 320003 'regular/standard' G-chord (see chord tabs below))
Gm D
La la la la la la la la laaa
Gm Cm7
La la la la la la la la laaa
Cm
La la la laaa
C Cm
La la la la la la la la laaa
G (last 'la' blends with first word of first verse below)
La la la laaa
G
Christopher Daniel Gay was arrested on a Friday
In Florida at the Daytona International Speedway
Gm
He was a fugitive on the run,
Christopher made a quick escape
D
while being transported in a van
that was picking up convicts state to state.
Gm
He did it during a bathroom break,
he hot-wired somebody's pickup
In fact,
Cm7
Christopher had a long history of theft
involving trucks,
Cm
He was on route to Alabama
for stealing someone's travel trailer
C
Grand Theft Auto
He was a career criminal, jailbird
Cm
who also had three outstanding warrants
in his home state of Tennessee
G
It was an outstanding performance that set him free
Little Houdini
Stole a big rig, then a tour bus that belonged to Crystal Gayle
to evade a five state manhunt that wanted to put that birdy back in jail
but they failed
Gm
'cause Christopher wasn't just running from cops
Christopher Gay was now racing a clock
D
his mother was dying
and there was no time to be held
inside of a cage with locks
Gm
so yall can turn up your nose
Cm7
and suck on your teeth and wag your finger like tsk-tsk
but he had to take the risk
Little Houdini
Cm
There wasn't a single thing sinister in his decision
to break from the prison
C
His only motive was to go back to his childhood home
while his mom was still living
G
it wasn't a house
more like an old mobile camper
where she was bedridden diagnosed with colon cancer
Sometimes,
Gm
The only answer we're left with
when the loved one's name is on the death list
D
Is to head for the exits and go home
Christopher got the hell out of Texas
Gm
His abandonment was reckless
It prolonged his sentence
Cm7
Y'all can forget it
He had numerous convictions and none were as strong as this
Cm
Unless you consider the other instance
He went the distance
C
Similar situation, it was a bizarre coincidence
Cm
When he escaped from the prison the first time,
Not this time, but the one before
G
He visited his dad
Cause he was dying inside of a mental ward
Suffering from Alzheimer's
He paid respects
Made his peace
When he was done
He didn't run
He returned himself back to the police
That's when his mom made her plea
She said:
Gm
"He knows what he done was wrong,
A
but he knows his father don't got long
Gm
He's not a fugitive on the run
A
He's not dangerous, he's our son
he ain't never hurt no one
Eb
He knows what he's done was wrong,
Bb
but he knows his father don't got long
Gm
He's not a fugitive on the run
D
He's our son"
This ain't no country western song.
[ Tab from: https://www.guitartabs.cc/tabs/s/sage_francis/little_houdini_crd.html ]
Gm
Christopher wasn't just running from cops
Christopher Gay was now racing a clock
A
his mother was dying
and there was no time to be held
inside of a cage with locks
Gm
So Y'all can go on tossing rocks
A
And talk your talk like tsk tsk
Meanwhile Chris is stealing a tractor trailer from Wal-Mart
Eb
An 18 wheeler, he's peeling rubber the bird takes flight down turnpikes
Bb
Three hundred thousand dollars worth of merchandise, but it ain't worth her life
Gm
Ran it off the road, and abandoned it
D
50 yards from his moms to avoid the cops
Thats half a football field from her feeble arms
Eb
After all this stuff
The tour bus, the pick up trucks
Bb
The tractor trailer, interstate chases
He put on the brakes and couldn't get close enough
Gm
The news reporters told people to lock their doors
D
Like there was a monster on the loose but there was no truth to those reports.
Eb
His mom had weeks to live
And Chris had years to serve
Bb
They were within shouting distance
But I don't think he heard her final words.
Fb D
I don't think he heard her final words.
She made her plea to the TV
Gm
"He knows what he's done was wrong,
A
but he knows his mama don't got long
Gm
He's not a fugitive on the run
D
He's not dangerous, he's my son
he ain't never hurt no one
Eb
He knows what he's done was wrong,
Bb
but he knows his mama don't got long
Gm
He's not a fugitive on the run
D
he's my son"
This ain't no country western song.
Gm
The third time he escaped from a state cop at the Georgia pit-stop
A
He just slipped out of the handcuffs, he jumped ship then he took off
Gm
With no father to visit, and no mom to go home to
A
Just an open road where he could be free
Little Houdini
Eb
With no father to visit, no mom to go home to
Bb
Just a wide open sky where he could fly
Gm
With no father to visit, no mom to go home to
D
Just an open road where he could be free
Little Houdini
Eb
With no father to visit, no mom to go home to
Bb
Just a wide open sky where he could fly
Gm
With no father to visit, no mom to go home to
D
Just an open road where he could be free
Little Houdini
Eb
With no father to visit, no mom to go home to
Bb
Just a wide open sky where he could fly
Fb
With no father to visit, no mom to go home to
D
Just an open road where he could be free
Gm
Little Houdini....
Chords/notes: All the 'G' and 'D' chords i play this way...
G D
e|----3-----2----|
B|----0-----3----|
G|----0-----2----|
D|----0-----0----|
A|----2-----0----|
E|----3----------|
All the other chords use barre chords (bar chords)
Gm Cm7 Cm C A Eb Bb Fb
e|----3------3----3-----3-----5------6-----6----1--|
B|----3------4----4-----5-----5------8-----6----1--|
G|----3------3----5-----5-----6------8-----7----2--|
D|----5------5----5-----5-----7------8-----8----3--|
A|----5------3----3-----3-----7------6-----8----3--|
E|----3------3----3-----3-----5------6-----6----1--|
I did this tab using a picture of the guitar chords from the
Li(f)e recording session that Sage Francis posted online...
I've played it to myself over and over and it sounds close,
if not exact.
