Slaid Cleaves - Below Chords

Capo 3rd Fret

F  G   Am  (Choke)
       Am
There’s an old dirt road, just off route nine.
               F         G                          Am
Fades into the lake,            at the low water line.
Am
Sometimes I wander down that road alone.
                Dm     G                           Am
Remembering the town,           that I once called home.
Am
I grew up on the valley, every neighbor a friend, 
                 F     G                          Am
Until the modern world          started creeping in.
Am
One day came the lawyers, with cash in hand.
                    Dm   G                                 Am
They swore that our village             would light up the land.  

Chorus:
      F                        Am
The dusky waters move cold and slow, 
                    C                      E
And the ghosts of a village still wander below.
              F                            Am
Homesteads of families and friends forever more, 
             Dm        G                             Am  (Choke)
Haunting the valley             below this sparkling shore.

            Am
Surrounding the valley was a painted red line, 
                 F      G                      Am
Drawn by company men            like marking a crime.
      Am
A silent reminder that all inside it must go, 
                  Dm         G                               Am
Or be lost to the rising                        dead river’s flow.
Am
Some folks took the money, started grinding gears, 
                     F          G                          Am
While the rest of us held out,                  twenty odd years.
Am
We watched our town, like a photograph fade, 
               Dm            G                         Am  (Choke)
As the company came,                    to take it all away.  
Am
They tore down the church, and the schoolhouse burned. 
                F            G                                 Am  
They dug up the graves,                 the wheels of progress turned.
Am
They got Dutchie’s Store, and Hayden’s Pool Hall, 
                 Dm          G                          Am
When the dozers rolled,                 it shattered us all.

Chorus:

      F                        Am
The dusky waters move cold and slow, 
                      C                      E
And the ghosts of the village still wander below.
              F                            Am
Homesteads of families and friends forever more, 
               Dm          G                         Am  (Choke)
Haunting the valley             below this sparkling shore.


Instrumental Break   
Am / F / G / Am / Dm / G / Am (Choke)

           Am
Old May Savage stayed as long as she could.
                 F          G                            Am
Her house on the hill                   towered over the flood.
Am
It rose up alone, in the dark of  night, 
                 Dm  G                                 Am
Its face on the water,                  in the cold moonlight.
Am
I shake off the memories, on my lips a prayer.  
                F        G                                   Am
Thanks for the grace,                   and the beauty down there.  
Am
And while the porch lights glow, all over the state, 
                    Dm         G                          Am
There’s nothing but darkness,                   under the lake.  

Chorus:

           F                   Am
The dusky waters move cold and slow, 
                      C                     E
And the ghosts of a village still wander below.
                F                          Am
Homesteads of families and friends forever more, 
                 Dm     G                              Am  
Haunting the valley               below this sparkling shore.
                 Dm     G                              Am           Am
They haunt the valley             below this sparkling shore.