This is a special song for me. I used to sing it to my grandson, Anthony James, and put his name into the chorus when he was young. When he was 7, one time he laid himself across my lap, and grinned, and said Gramma, sing the song. And he closed his eyes, still grinning.
SWEET BABY JAMES - James Taylor
Waltz Pick Pull, Pull on last 3 strings works well
Intro:
G(no 3rd) Em7 A7sus4
D A G F#m
There is a young cowboy; he lives on the range.
Bm G D F#m
His Horse and his cattle are his only companions.
Bm G D F#m
He works in the saddle and sleeps in the canyons,
G D A Em7 A
waiting for summer, his pastures to change.
200000 G A7s4 D
And as the moon rises, he sits by his fire
Bm G D A
thinking about women and glasses of beer.
G A7sus4 D
And closing his eyes while the doggies retire.
Bm G D
He sings out a song which is soft but its clear,
E7s4 E7 A7s4 pull A
as if maybe someone could hear.
Chorus:
D G A D
Goodnight all you moonlight ladies
Bm G D Pinky on, off
Rock-a-bye sweet baby James
Bm G D
Deep greens and blues are the colors I choose
E7s4 E7 A7s4 A
Wont you let me go down in my dreams
200000 G A D
and rock-a-bye sweet baby James.
D A G F#m
Now the first of December was covered in snow
Bm G D F#m
so was the turnpike from Stockbridge to Boston
Bm G F#m
though the Berkshires seemed dreamlike on account of the frosting
G D A Em7 A
with ten miles behind me and ten thousand more to go
G A7s4 D
There's a song that they sing when they take to the highway
Bm G D A
a song that they sing when they take to the sea
G A7s4 D
a song that they sing of their home in the sky
Bm G D
Maybe you can believe if it helps you to sleep
E7s4 E7 A7s4 A
The singing works just fine for me.
Chorus
Chords:
G(no 3rd)- 3x0033
Em7- 020033
A7s4- 002033
D- 000323
A- 002220
G- 3x0003
F#m- 244222
Bm- 024432
E7s4- 020200
E7- 020100
