Old Joe Clark
Words & Music:
Traditional American
There are a zillion verses
for this. Feel free to send any
along! You can also sub a V chords
(E or E7 or Em) for the bVII (G) chord.
Either works. It's a matter of personal preference. There is a nice arrangement of this by
Craig Dobbins in the December 2005 issue of Acoustic Guitar
and a different arrangement for solo guitar in the October 2005 issue of Acoustic Guitar.
A
G
Old Joe Clark's a fine old
man, tell you the reason why.
A
G A
He keeps good likker 'round
his house, good old Rock & Rye.
CHORUS:
A
G
Fare ye well, Old Joe
Clark! Fare ye well, I say.
[alt: Fare thee well, Old
Joe Clark. Goodbye, Betsy Brown.]
A
Fare ye well, Old Joe Clark! I'm a-goin' away.
[alt: Fare thee well, Old
Joe Clark. I'm gonna leave this
town.]
Old Joe Clark used
to clean the bar. Liquor was his pay.
Never saved a
golden eagle. Drank it all away.
CHORUS:
Old Joe Clark, the preacher's
son, preached all over the plain.
The only text he ever knew was
high, low, Jack and the game.
CHORUS:
Old Joe Clark had a mule, his
name was Morgan Brown.
And every tooth in that mule's
head was sixteen inches 'round.
CHORUS:
Old Joe Clark had a yellow
cat, she would neither sing or pray.
She stuck her head in the
buttermilk jar & washed her sins away.
CHORUS:
Old Joe Clark, he had a house,
fifteen stories high.
And every story in that house
was filled with chicken pie.
CHORUS: