Capo: 4 Tuning: E A D G B E

Gordon Lightfoot - Cherokee Bend CAPO: 4th Fret [INTRO:] Dm [VERSE 1:] His father was a man who could never understand

The ^Fshame on a red man's face So they ^Dmlived in the hills and they never came down But to ^A7trade in the white man's place

[VERSE 2:]

It was ^Dmearly in the spring when the snow had disappeared They came ^Fdown with a bag of skins In the ^Dmfall of the year of 1910 Daddy ^A7died by the rope down in Cherokee ^DmBend

[CHORUS:]

^GmDaddy didn't like what the white man said 'Bout the ^A7dirty little kid at his side ^GmDaddy didn't like what the white man did Nor the ^A7deal or the way that he lied

[VERSE 3:]

There was ^Dmblood on the floor of the government store When the ^Fmen took his daddy away But the ^Dmboy stayed back till he come to his end And he ^A7run like the wind from Cherokee ^DmBend

[VERSE 4:]

Now the ^Dmmother was alone and the winter was at hand And she ^Fprayed to her spirit kin It was ^Dmwarm in the lodge in the Kentucky hills On the ^A7day when the boy came in

[VERSE 5:]

Then a ^Dmblizzard came down and it covered up the door Till they ^Fthought that it never would end And he ^Dmtold her the tale of the terrible affair In the ^A7government store down in Cherokee ^DmBend

[CHORUS:]

^GmDaddy didn't like what the white man said 'Bout the ^A7dirty little kid at his side ^GmDaddy didn't like what the white man did Nor the ^A7deal or the way that he lied

[VERSE 6:]

For ^Dmthree long days and three long nights They ^Fwept and they mourned and then She re^Dmturned to her work and her weaving And they ^A7tried to forget about Cherokee ^DmBend

[VERSE 7:]

Now the ^Dmboy wasn't big, but he hunted what he could And they ^Flived for a time that way But the ^Dmfood run low and the meat went bad And she ^A7said to the boy one day

[VERSE 8:]

"I'm ^Dmleaving tonight and I never will return From the ^Fland of my Spirit Kin You must ^Dmtake what you need and trade what you can For a ^A7Red Man's grave down in Cherokee ^DmBend"

[CHORUS:]

It ^Gmwasn't very long till she closed her eyes And he ^A7wrapped her in a robe He ^Gmfound her a place on the side of the hill And he ^A7buried her in the snow

[VERSE 9:]

^DmEarly in the spring he was seen in the town With his ^Fload, looking ragged and thin Not a ^Dmyear had gone by when he stood once again In the ^A7government store down in Cherokee ^DmBend

[VERSE 10:]

He was ^Dmten years tall and a Redskin too So he ^Fhadn't much face to save And the ^Dmmen sat around and they laughed and they clowned At the ^A7talk of a criminal's grave

[VERSE 11:]

Then the ^Dmman from the east didn't smile when he said "You're the ^Fson of that Indian scum If you ^Dmvalue your hide then you better abide By the ^A7white man's rules, here in Cherokee ^DmBend"

[CHORUS:]

^GmDaddy didn't like what the white man said 'Bout the ^A7dirty little kid at his side ^GmDaddy didn't like what the white man did Nor the ^A7deal or the way that he lied

[VERSE 12:]

Then he ^Dmspit on the floor of the government store And it ^Fserved him to no good end At the ^Dmclose of the day they had taken him away To the ^A7white man's school down in Cherokee ^DmBend

[VERSE 13:]

It's been ^Dm21 years since the boy disappeared Where he ^Frun to, nobody knows But they ^Dmsay he fell in with a man named Jim And he ^A7rides in the rodeos

[VERSE 14:]

They ^Dmsay he returned all alone to a place Hidden ^Fdeep in the Kentucky glen And it's ^Dmpretty well known who hauled up the stone To the ^A7grave on the hill above Cherokee ^DmBend

[CHORUS:]

^GmDaddy didn't like what the white man said 'Bout the ^A7dirty little kid at his side ^GmDaddy didn't like what the white man did Nor the ^A7deal or the way that he lied

[VERSE 15:]

There was ^Dmblood on the floor of the government store When the ^Fmen took his daddy away It was ^Dm1910 and they never had a friend When he ^A7died by the rope down at Cherokee ^DmBend It was ^Dm1910 and they never had a friend When he ^A7died by the rope down at Cherokee ^DmBend

Gordon Lightfoot - Cherokee bend