The Midnight Special Lyrics

Traditional; arranged by by John Fogerty
performed by Creedence Clearwater Revival
tab transcribed by Collins Crapo
(initially, single, slow strums of each chord)
Well, you wake up in the mornin'
You hear the work bell ring
And they march you to the table
You see the same old thing
Ain't no food upon the table
And no fork up in the pan
But you'd better not complain, boy
You'll get in trouble with the man
(now speed up tempo and strum continuously; all subsequent verses have
same pattern as chorus)
CHORUS:
Let the midnight special
Shine the light on me
Let the midnight special
Shine the light on me
Let the midnight special
Shine the light on me
Let the midnight special
Shine the ever-lovin' light on me
Verse 2:
Yonder come Miss Rosie
How in the world did you know
By the way she wears her apron
And the clothes she wore
Umbrella on her shoulder
Piece of paper in her hand
She come to see the gov'nor
She wanna free her man
(chorus)
Verse 3:
If you're ever in Houston
Ooh, you'd better do right
You'd better not gamble
And you'd better not fight
Or the sheriff will grab ya
And the boys'll bring you down
The next thing you know, boy
Ooh, you're prison-bound
(chorus twice; 2nd time, at last line, decelerate, with break at "light
on me," to final strum of D)