One Second Chance Chords by Jeff Bates

Hi, I'm Jeff Bates.
I'm celebrating five years of being drug-free.
For those of you that don't know about my past,
I was addicted to methamphetamine. _
And from the first time I did it,
for the next year and a half,
all I thought about was how to get some more.
I sold everything I owned that had any value to it
so I could support my habit.
And when I ran out of things to sell,
I started stealing from my friends.
And on March 14, 2001,
I was arrested for grand [A] theft and drug possession.
_ I remember waking up in jail after about seven days
and having my first clear thought in months
and realizing that I'd hurt and cheated and lied
to everybody that I knew and loved and cared about.
_ I was ashamed.
_ The only thing I knew to do was what my mama taught me to do, _
and that was get out on my knees and pray.
_ I asked him to help me, and he did.
And then I got on the phone, and I started calling everybody
that I'd taken anything from.
I told them I'd pay them back when I got out of jail,
which I did.
_ _ [Eb] But the thing that really blew me away
was out of everybody that I hurt, cheated, lied to, stole from,
_ every single one of them forgave me.
_ _ So we do this song for anybody out there
who needs forgiveness or maybe needs to give forgiveness.
_ [Gm] _
_ _ I'm going to be more than that.
I'm going to be doing what's wrong with my life.
_ It says here you're from Houston
You're [D] certified to drive a truck
[Em] It doesn't say what you've been [G] doing the [C] last five years
[G] Then I watched his eyes keep reading
Then I [D] watched his eyes look up
[G] And watched another job I needed [C]
disappear
Cause when they get to the line
[G] If you've been convicted of a crime
[C] They say thanks for [G] coming in
And they [Am] don't call you back
[G] _ [C] I ain't asking [G] for every job under the [Am] sun
I [G] just [D] want one [G] second chance
_ _ _ _ _ On August 22nd, [D] little Jake was turning five
[G] But his mama [Gm] moved him half a [C] state away
[G] I left another message [D] on her phone at home last night
[Em] And she finally had her [D] lawyer [C] call today
She [C]
knows I can't afford [G] to take this thing to court
[C] And I'm trying [G] hard to make her [Am] understand
[G] _ [C] I ain't asking [G] for every weekend [Am] of every month
I [G] just want one [D] _ [G] second chance
[C] I was young and I was [G] stupid
I regret it every day
[C] I ain't saying I [G] didn't do it
[Am] But I've paid for [D] my mistakes
[G] It's a lost and empty feeling
When they don't want you around
Yeah, I finally got my freedom
[D] But what good is it [C] now?
_ [G] _ _ _ _ _
_ [Am] _ _ [G] _ _ [C] _ _ [G] _
_ _ There's some days when it feels like
[D]
It's been a hundred years
[G] Sometimes it seems like only [C] yesterday
We [G] were painting Jacob's nursery
[D] Counting days till he was here
[Em] Next thing I knew [D] I'd thrown it [C] all away
_ Now I know I can't go back
[G] To the life I used to have
[C] When I still held [G] the whole world [Am] in my hands
[G] _ [C] I had a job, [G] I had a wife, [Am] I had a son
Now I just [D] want one second _ _ [G] chance _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _