John Prine
Grandpa
Was a Carpenter
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E
Oh, grandpa wore
his suit to dinner nearly
every day
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No particular
reason, he just dressed
that way
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E
Brown necktie with
a matching vest and both
his wingtip shoes
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B
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B
Built a closet on
our back porch and put a
penny in a burned-out fuse
Chorus
E
B
Grandpa
was a carpenter,
he built houses, stores and banks
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Chain-smoked
Camel
cigarettes and hammered nails in planks
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E
He
was level on the
level, he shaved even every door
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B
And
voted for Eisenhower, 'cause Lincoln won the war
Verse
Well,
he used to sing me
"Blood on the Saddle" and rock me on his knee
And let me listen to the
radio before we got TV
Well, he'd drive to church on
Sunday and he'd take me with him too
Stained glass in every
window, hearing aids in every pew
Repeat
Chorus
Verse
Well,
my Grandma was a
teacher, she went to school in Bowling Green
Traded
in a milking cow
for a Singer sewing ma chine
Well,
she called her
husband "Mister," and she walked real tall in pride
She
used to buy me comic
books after grandpa died
Repeat
Chorus