Chris Ledoux - Johnson County War Chords

[Verse 1]
Am                     G  Am
Headed for Wyoming, in 1882
Am                                  G                    Am
A woman, a team, and a wagon, gonna make our dreams come true
F              C                G                 Am
Settled in the foothills of the big horn mountain slope
Am
Life is sweet we lived on the meat
G                   Am
Of the deer and the antelope
Am                                         G                  Am
We cut house logs on the moutain, with the team we hauled 'em down
Am                                      G                     Am
Peeled 'em and we stacked 'em up, for a house and bought some ground
F               C           G                     Am
Traded for some cattle, and turned 'em out on the range
Am
The skies were blue and we never knew
G                     Am
How things were gonna change
 
[Chorus]
F          C             G         Am
Ole powder river, you're muddy and wide
F                 C              E
How many men have died upon your shores
F                      C             G            Am
When you brand a man a rustler, he's gotta take a side
Am                               G               Am
There's no middle ground in this Johnson Country War
 
[Verse 2]
Am                                                    G                     Am
Well, the neighbors stopped by yesterday, while I was outside choppin' some wood
Am                                             G                  Am
And they filled me in on the local news, ain't none of it sounded good
F                      C                        G               Am
Said, they'd been some cattle stealin', by some no count outlaw bands
Am
We'd all been branded rustler's
       G                    Am
by the big ranchers of this land
Am                                            G                  Am
Well it was us against the cattlemen, and the years just made it worse
Am                                                                G       Am
First the drought, then the tough winter, Johnson County had been dealt a curse
F                   C               G              Am
Then their came the story about the two dry golgia tax
Am
Ranger Jones and John Tisdale
G                     Am
both been shot in the back...
 
[Chorus]
F          C             G                Am
Oh, Powder River, you're muddy and you're wide
F                 C              E
How many men have died upon your shores
F                      C             G            Am
When you brand a man a rustler, he's gotta take a side
Am                               G              Am
There's no middle ground in this Johnson County War
 
[Verse 3]
Am                              G                 Am
Then last night at supper time, riders stopped by chance
Am                                       G                 Am
They said cattleman and hired guns, just burned the Kaycee Ranch
F                     C        G                Am
Two men had died this mornin', shot down in the snow
Am
Now the vigilante army
    G            Am
Was marchin' for Buffalo
Am                                         G                 Am
Well the county was in an uproar, an every man saddled up to ride
Am                                        G                   Am
Caught the cattlemen at the TA Ranch, and surrounded all four sides
F                        C           G                   Am
We hailed the house with bullets and swore we'd make 'em pay
Am
But the calvery came across the plains
    G                    Am
And once again saved the day
 
[Verse 4]
Am                                          G              Am
Well, they marched 'em off to Cheyenne, and no one went to jail
Am                                            G                  Am
The cattlemen we're all turned loose, and the hired guns hit the trail
F                    C               G               Am
And I guess the only justice, wasn't much to say the least
Am
Last winter me and mine ate mighty fine
       G              Am
On the cattle baron's beef
 
[Chorus]
F          C             G                Am
Oh, Powder River, you're muddy and you're wide
F                 C              E
How many men have died upon your shores
F                      C             G            Am
When you brand a man a rustler, he's gotta take a side
Am                               G              Am
There's no middle ground in this Johnson County War
 
Am                               G              Am
There's no middle ground in this Johnson County War