Chords for Lightnin Hopkins & Billy Bizor - Mr. Charlie (1967)

Once in the country, there was a little boy.
He studied.
His mother didn't know what kind of language that he was trying to speak
when he said, ah, ah, ah, wah, wah, wah.
Well, she didn't know that that would make a difference, you know,
and she just wondered one day, what kind of child have I got?
So the little boy couldn't understand his mama,
and she couldn't understand him.
So last one day, the little boy made up in his mind to leave home.
So he packed up his little flower sack,
and he put his little few pieces in there,
and he went wandering down the road.
He ran up on a place he called the old Rolling Mill.
Back to the business with Mr.
Charlie.
So when he got there, Mr.
Charlie was in his rose bushes.
He was working around, patting Mr.
Charlie on his back.
He said, mip, mip, mip, mip.
He said, boy, what you doing here?
Me, me, me, me want home.
He said, oh, I don't know.
Go on, I ain't got time to fool with you.
I got my work to do.
He stooped down and went on, began doing his work again as he was at first.
So the little boy patted him on the back again, and he said, look here.
I got an old bunkhouse out there in the back.
If [Gb] you'll promise me that you'll live in that old bunkhouse
and take care of my mill,
[Bb] and if my mill catch on fire, I live two blocks down the road,
run up there and tell me my mill's on fire,
you'll have a home with me long as I got one.
Me didn't do it.
Mr.
Charlie get the old boy there [G] home.
Last one day, Mr.
Charlie's mill [D] caught on fire, which was a Sunday morning.
The little boy did the very best he could to put the mill out, [E] but he couldn't.
So he run on up there, and Mr.
Charlie was in the front yard
working around the rows, which was very beautiful.
The boy takes him on his back, saying, me, me, me, me, [Eb] trying to see Charlie,
pointing back toward the mill.
Mr.
Charlie had forgot he told the little boy if his mill catch on fire,
run up there and let him know once in a while it catch on fire.
So Mr.
Charlie said, boy, here he is again.
He said, I don't have time for you.
I got my work to do.
So the little boy touched him again and he raised up.
He said, me, me, me, me, roll, roll, roll.
[Bb] And he was trying to tell him his rolling mill was on fire.
Mr.
Charlie looked at him.
He thought about what he told him.
He said, look here, boy.
See, if you can't talk, sing.
The [Eb] little boy said, whoa, _ _ Mr.
Charlie, _ _
_ _ _ _ do you know your rolling mill is burning down?
_ _ _ _ _ [Ab] Mr.
Charlie, _ _ _ do you know [Eb] your rolling mill is burning down?
_ _ _ Mr.
Charlie said, [Bb] if you ain't got no water, boy,
_ _ [Ab] just let that old me old [Eb] boy know I'm down. _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ [Ab] _
_ [Eb] _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ Little boy, he got this thing about he wouldn't have no home.
And he told Mr.
Charlie, _ _ whoa, _ Mr.
[Ebm] Charlie,
I _ _ [Db] _
[Ab] _ _ won't have [Eb] no place to stay. _
_ _ _ _ Mr.
[Ab] Charlie, _ I _ [Eb] won't have no place to stay. _
_ _ _ _ Mr.
Charlie [Bb] said, boy, you'll have a home with me.
[Ab] _ _ Catch you long as [Eb] there is a day.
Woo, _ _ _ _ _ _ _
woo, hoo. _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ [Ab] _
[Ebm] _ _ _ _ _ [Eb] _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ [Bb] _ _ [Ab] _
[Eb] _ Little boy told him one more time, whoa, _ _ Mr.
Charlie,
[Ebm] _ _ _ [Ab] _ _
[Eb] do you know your rolling mill is burning down? _ _ _
_ Mr.
Charlie, [Ab] _ do you [Eb] know your rolling mill is burning down? _ _ _ _
_ Mr.
Charlie said, if you ain't got no water, [Bb] boy,
_ [Eb] just let that old mill boy know. _ _ _ _ _
_ _ [E] The way that you're born, that's the way you're supposed to be.
It ain't no supposed to be.
That's the way you're going to be.
You can be born [Ebm] with one foot turned that way.
I see the man walking over his feet just like that.
He couldn't help it.
He couldn't help it.
So the little boy that was studying, he couldn't help it.
See, [Em] that was just the way he was born.
[Cm] So you take a man, if he's studying, he [N] can't talk to you without studying,
but he can sing you a song.
If he know how to tune a thing, he won't study, he'll sing.
And you don't hear him studying on that, [Bb] what he say.
_ [N] Y'all heard of John Lee Hooker?
No, you don't know, but I do.
You heard of John Lee Hooker?
You have?
If you ever heard of John Lee Hooker, I want you to meet him in person
and talk with him and see how he say, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, [Eb] uh, uh, uh, uh,
and why he didn't say, _ you my kind.
He don't [N] be studying. _