Chords: E | A | E | E7 | A | Am | E | C#m | B7 | A | E | B7 (The Am in bar 6 and the C#m in bar 8 give the song its sunken color.) Instrument plan: Kick-off on fiddle (bowed double-stops) · Break 1 on dobro, very spare · Break 2 trades fiddle and guitar · Tag answered by fiddle alone Arrangement note: The banjo stays out until Verse 5, then comes in with soft forward rolls. The turn verse brings the song's first light. [Intro – fiddle kick-off, 4 bars] [Verse 1] The kettle on the stove, it don't sing for me no more, That old kettle on the stove, Lord, it won't sing for me no more, And the only one that knocks is the wind against the door. [Verse 2] I wake up at the gray light and I lay there like a stone, I wake up in the gray light and I lie there like a stone, Got a phone that never rings and a body tired to the bone. [Chorus – close, quiet trio harmony] Lonesome is a holler where the daylight never falls, Lonesome is a deep, deep holler where the daylight never falls, And I'm living at the bottom, just a-talking to the walls. [Instrumental Break – dobro, 12 bars, sparse] [Verse 3] My mama had a saying, "Child, the sun comes up for free," Mama used to tell me, "Child, the sun comes up for free," But it rises on the mountain, and it never reaches me. [Verse 4] The folks in town keep asking, "Are you doing fine, my friend?" Folks in town keep asking me, "You doing fine, my friend?" And I tell 'em yes, I'm fine, and I go back home again. [Chorus – close, quiet trio harmony] Lonesome is a holler where the daylight never falls, Lonesome is a deep, deep holler where the daylight never falls, And I'm living at the bottom, just a-talking to the walls. [Instrumental Break – fiddle 3 bars, guitar 3 bars] [Verse 5 – stop-time on first line, banjo enters on second] But there's a fiddle in the closet that ain't been played in years, There's a fiddle in the closet, ain't been touched in seven years, Maybe tonight I'll tune it up, and let it cry my tears. [Outro – tag] Let it cry my tears, Let it cry... my tears. [fiddle answers alone]
