Chords for Bill Withers - Grandma's Hands (live at Carnegie Hall) [audio]

A lot of folks of all different nationalities and things come up to me and say, _
I dug my grandmother too.
_ _ And I remember the first responsibility I ever had was to take care of my grandmother,
make sure she got everywhere okay.
And at that time I was maybe five or six years old,
and the most I could have done was let her fall on me if she decided to fall.
But it was a hip job because Grandma never went nowhere but the church,
and it wasn't one of them sad churches where they sang them songs
that make you wish you could just hurry up and die and get it over with. _
One of them kind of,
[Bb] lay _ [N] on _ the ground. _ _ _ _ _
Grandma and them had one of them churches where they sung,
If you want to help me Jesus it's all right.
If you want to help me Jesus it's all right.
And at the funeral they used to have to tie the caskets down.
Yeah.
_ _ Yeah.
And they had them fat sisters in there, used to get so glad in the rhythm.
Had a little stove in the center of the church for heat,
and invariably one of them fat sisters would feel so good she would jump into the stove
and holler, ow, right in the rhythm.
_ Grandma was like Bobby over here, Bobby Hall.
She had a tambourine and a triangle.
When I saw Bobby with that tambourine and triangle I couldn't help but hug her.
But Grandma couldn't play the triangle good like Bobby can,
but she could deal with the tambourine.
So I used to sit on the triangle and hand her the tambourine.
And the Honorable Reverend back there had an old bass drum that somebody gave him.
And when the groove got right and the fat sister hit the stove and hollered
and Grandma shook the tambourine off the hip,
the Reverend would get the feeling so good he'd just hit himself all upside the head with the drumstick. _ _
Yeah.
_ I love that old lady.
Love that old lady.
[Em] _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ Grandma's hands clapped in church on Sunday morning. _
Grandma's hands [B] played a tambourine so well.
[Em] _
_ Grandma's hands used to issue [E] out a warning.
[B] She'd say, [A] Billy, don't you run so [B] fast.
Might [A] fall on a piece of [B] glass.
[A] Might be snakes there in that [Bm] grass.
[Em] Grandma's hands. _
_ _ _ [Bm] _ [Em] Grandma's hands [Bm] soothed the local [Em] unloving mother.
_ Grandma's hands [B] used to ache sometimes and swell.
[Em] _ _ Grandma's [D] hands used to lift her [Em] face and tell her [B] she'd sleep.
[A] Baby, Grandma [B] understands [A] that you really love that [B] man.
[A] Put yourself in Jesus' [Em] hands.
_ Grandma's hands. _ _ _ _
_ Grandma's hands used to hand me a piece of candy. _
_ _ [B] Grandma's hands picked me up each time I fell.
[Em] _
_ _ Grandma's hands, boy, they really came in [A] handy.
[B] She'd say, [A] Nancy, don't you whip that [B] boy.
What you want to spank him for?
[A] He didn't drop no apple [B] core, but I don't have [Em] Grandma in it.
[D]
[B] If I get to [A] heaven, [Em] I'll look for Grandma's hands.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ [E] _ _ [F] _ [B] _ _ _