bottomless_lake.crd, as transcribed by Phil Scott, P.Scott@latrobe.edu.au


BOTTOMLESS LAKE by John Prine
>From the album "Aimless Love", Oh Boy Records, 1986
 
  
Play with capo on 3rd fret, ie actually in key of A#
I'm not certain I've tracked down all of the chords in
the verse. I've got a sneaking suspicion that there's at
least one variation on an A chord there somewhere, but I
can't tell for the life of me what it is.
Anyway, the following seems to work for me.

(Guitar Intro: G C C C G G G D D D G G G (twice))
G
Here's the story of a man and his family
      D                  G
And a big trip that they took

I heard all about it in a restaurant
      D
And I read it in a history book
     C                   G
They rented a car at the Erie Canal
                           C
But the car didn't have no brake
     G
Said ma to pa my God this car
         D                        G
Is gonna fall into the bottomless lake

(guitar: repeat intro)
Well mama turned to daddy with a pale face
She said I've done something horribly wrong
The water's still runnin' in the bathtub
And I think I left the kitchen light on
Then I heard a crash, the car went splash
The compass rolled around and around
Oh, for heaven's sake we fell in a lake
And I think we're all gonna drown


CHORUS
G      D
We are falling down
                        G
Down to the bottom of a hole in the ground

Smoke 'em if you got 'em
C                    G
I'm so scared, I can hardly breathe
      D                       G
I may never see my sweetheart again

(guitar: repeat intro)
There was plenty of food in the back seat
And the windows were rolled up tight
So we all nibbled on a chicken leg
And told stories way through the night
Pa told one that he told before
And the baby got a bellyache
Said ma to pa, my God this car
Is falling down the bottomless lake

CHORUS

(guitar: repeat intro)
Papa played the music on the radio
Mama rocked the baby to sleep
He said he would'a taken the other road
But he didn't think the lake was that deep
If the ferry'd been there at the end of the pier
We'd be half way to Uncle Jake's
Instead of lookin' at fish out the window, I wish
We'd hit the bottom of the bottomless lake
(repeat) Instead of lookin' at fish out the window, I wish
We'd hit the bottom of the bottomless lake

CHORUS

(guitar: repeat intro twice)
So if you're ever goin' on a big trip
Ya better be careful out there
Start everything on your good foot
Wear clean underwear
Take along a bible in the back seat
Read of David and of Solomon
Coz if you make a mistake in the bottomless lake
You may never see your sweetheart again
If you should make a mistake in the bottomless lake
You may never see your sweetheart again
(repeat) If you should make a mistake in the bottomless lake
You may never see your sweethearts again

That's right...