Three Rusty Reivers by Cathal Coughlan
From Cathal Coughlan’s 2002 The Sky’s Awful Blue album. Written by Cathal Coughlan. No capo.
INTRO
[Gm] [Eb6] [Dm] (x2)
VERSE 1
[Gm] Three rusty reivers in a flower [Eb6] van
[Gm] Search for their comrade, the ailing circus [F] man
[F] No sign of [F7] him since the [Bbmaj7] wild times fell [Bb] through
They [Bbmaj7] swap their old [Bb] tales now, [Fm] none of them [Bbm7] true
VERSE 2
[Gm] Up from the badlands to dusty rutted [Eb6] streets
Where [Gm] thin boys drink codeine and their ragged mothers [F] screech
They [F] heard he was [F7] sick and his [Bb7] family starved
They [Bb7] mention his name in the [Cm7] blood-spattered [Abm7] bars
They get [Cm7] hostile re [F#aug] marks
But they [Cm7] cease to en [Abm7] quire
When the [Cm7] van’s set on [F#] fire [C#]
VERSE 3
[Gm] Mouldy pink motel, the city’s empty [Eb6] half
[Gm] Three pairs of old shoes tramp the mossy [F] path
Their [F] friend lies with [Cm6] in with his [Bbmaj7] bride aged fif [Bb] teen
She [Bbmaj7] answers the [Bb] door and re [Fm] lays what she’s [Bb] seen
VERSE 4
He [Gm] comes to them, stiff-necked, no smile upon his [F] lips
Then [Gm] lowers his brow and says, “What the hell is [F] this?”
These [F] stretchy old [Cm6] faces, two [Bbmaj7] drunks and their [Bb] whore
Of [Bbmaj7] welcome round [Bb] here, well, the [Cm7] plague would find [Ab7] more
Then he [Cm7] slams shut the [Ab7] door
And a [Cm7] radio [Ab7] plays
From a [Cm7] truck far a [F#] way
[F#] “Rose Marie”
INTERLUDE
Note: I suppose here you’d be okay just strumming a Cm6.
[Cm6]
VERSE 5/OUTRO
[Am] Three rusty reivers, a woman and two [F6] men
[Am] Once shared the same bed, you know how, way back [G] when
They [G] go back to their [G7] homes on the [C7] groaning old bus
The [C] sky’s awful blue that one [Gm7] night’s not dis [C] cussed [Am]