A Cautionary Song--The Decemberists Transcribed by Josh Burns Intro-Dm/A x4 Dm/A G/d There's a place your mother goes, when everybody else is soundly sleeping

^DmThrough the lights of beacon street And if you listen you can hear her ^Gweeping, She's ^Aweeping, cause the ^Bbgentlemen are calling And the snow is softly falling on her ^Fpetticoats. And she's s^Bbtanding in the harbour And she's waiting for the sailors in the ^Fjolly boat. See how ^Athey approach

With dirty hands and trousers torn they grapple 'til she's safe within their keeping A gag is placed between her lips to keep her sorry tongue from any speaking, or screaming And they row her out to packets where the sailor's sorry racket calls for maidenhead And she's scarce above the gunales when her clothes fall to a bundle and she's laid in bed on the upper deck

Interlude-^GmLa la la la laa,^Ala la la laa^Gm, ^A And so she goes from ship to ship, her ankles clasped, her arms so rudely pinioned 'Til at last she's satisfied the lot of the marina's teeming minions, in their opinions

And they tell her not to say a thing to cousin, kindred, kith or kin or she'll end up dead And they throw her thirty dollars and return her to the harbour where she goes to bed, and this is how your fed

^GmSo be kind to your mother, though she may ^Aseem an awful bother, and the ^Gmnext time she tries to feed you collard ^Agreens, Remember what she does when you're asleep ^A ^Dm

Decemberists - A cautionary song