Rye Whiskey
Traditional· Songs Well-Known in America · p.278
Chorus:
D G D
Rye whiskey, rye whiskey, rye whiskey I cry,
G D
If I don't get rye whiskey, I surely will die.
Way up on Clinch Mountain I wander alone
I'm drunk as the devil, just leave me alone.
I'll eat when I'm hungry, I'll drink when I'm dry,
If a tree don't fall on me, I'll live till I die.
It's whiskey, rye whiskey, you're no friend to me,
You killed my poor daddy, goddamn you try me.
It's whiskey, you villain, you've been my downfall,
You've kicked me, you've cuffed me, but I love you for all.
Oh baby, oh baby, I've told you before,
To make me a pallet, I'll lay on the floor.
Your parents don't like me, they say I'm too poor,
They say I'm not worthy to enter your door.
They say I drink whiskey, but my money's my own,
And if they don't like me, they can leave me alone.
It's beefsteak when I'm hungry, rye whiskey when I'm dry,
Greenbacks when I'm hard-up, and heaven when I die.
If the ocean was whiskey, and I was a duck,
I would dive to the bottom to get one sweet sup.
But the ocean ain't whiskey, and I ain't no duck,
So I'll play Jack Of Diamonds and try to change my luck.
Jack Of Diamonds, Jack Of Diamonds, I know you of old,
You've robbed my poor pockets of silver and gold.