Take Em Away

Old Crow Medicine Show

Key of C · Chords: I IV V

Chorus

C              F
Take 'em away, take 'em away, Lord
C               G
Take away these chains from me
C                         F
My heart is broken 'cause my spirit's not free
C                     G           C
Lord, take away these chains from me

Verse 1

C                          F
Some bird feathers are too bright to be caged
  C                                G
I know I'm not that colorful but a bird just the same
C                            F
Open up your gate now let me put down my load
   C                         G          C
So I can feel at ease and go back to my home

Chorus

C              F
Take 'em away, take 'em away, Lord
C               G
Take away these chains from me
C                         F
My heart is broken 'cause my spirit's not free
C                     G           C
Lord, take away these chains from me

Verse 2

C                        F
Sun beatin' down my legs can't seem to stand
          C                            G
There's a boss man at a turnrow with a rifle in his hand
C                       F
I've got nine children, nothin' in the pan
   C                          G             C
My wife she died hungry while I was plowin' land

Chorus

C              F
Take 'em away, take 'em away, Lord
C               G
Take away these chains from me
C                         F
My heart is broken 'cause my spirit's not free
C                     G           C
Lord, take away these chains from me

Instrumental

F C G C F C G C

Verse 3

C                                  F
Can't see when I go to work, can't see when I get off
C                       G
How do you expect a man not to get lost
C                              F
Every year I just keep getting deeper in debt
   C                            G                C
If there's a happy day, Lord, I haven't seen one yet

Chorus

C              F
Take 'em away, take 'em away, Lord
C               G
Take away these chains from me
C                         F
My heart is broken 'cause my spirit's not free
C                     G           C
Lord, take away these chains from me

Verse 4

C                       F
Land that I love is the land that I'm workin'
         C                                      G
But it's hard to love it all the time when your back is a-hurtin'
C                      F
Gettin' too old now to push this here plow
C                           G               C
Please let me lay down so I can look at the clouds

Chorus

C              F
Take 'em away, take 'em away, Lord
C               G
Take away these chains from me
C                         F
My heart is broken 'cause my spirit's not free
C                     G           C
Lord, take away these chains from me

Instrumental

F C G C F C G C

Verse 5

C                                 F
The land that I know is where two rivers collide
    C                          G
The Brazos, the Navaso and the big blue sky
C                             F
Flood plains, freight trains, watermelon vines
       C                                   G                 C
Of any place on God’s green earth, this is where I choose to die

Chorus

C              F
Take 'em away, take 'em away, Lord
C               G
Take away these chains from me
C                         F
My heart is broken 'cause my spirit's not free
C                     G           C
Lord, take away these chains from me

Outro

F C G C F C G C