john prine
This song is from John Prine's third album "Sweet Revenge"(1973). Different from the rest of the album, it was cut live at a gig at New York's State University, and substituted the "straight and humorless" studio recording. Prine sure had a lighter side, though he mainly wrote songs about social issues. That year he visited Rome, and the only English newspaper he found, was "The International Herald Tribune" filled up with disasters, conflicts and war stuff. The only thing he found amusing, was the columnist "Dear Abby" ...
I first heard Prine in the middle of the seventees, and got impressed by his plain voice, plain but clever guitar picking, straight tunes and harmonies, his inventive lyrics and straight forward performance and production. Kris Kristofferson, one of his life-long friends, once said that "he writes songs so good that we'll have to break his thumbs". Incredibly, I've never picked up any of these songs until now, when he's gone. There may be more, in respect of the modest man and his mentoring of several artists in folk, country and rock music.
dear abby : dear abby
my feet are too long
my hair's falling out and my rights are all wrong
my friends they all tell me that I've no friends at all
won't you write me a letter : won't you give me a call?
signed "bewildered"
bewildered : bewildered
you have no complaint
you are what your are and you ain't what you ain't
so listen up buster and listen up good:
stop wishing for bad luck and knocking on wood
dear abby : dear abby
my fountain pen leaks
my wife hollers at me and my kids are all freaks
every side I get up on is the wrong side of bed
if it weren't so expensive I'd wish I were dead
signed "unhappy"
unhappy : unhappy
you have no complaint ...
dear abby : dear abby
you won't believe this
but my stomach makes noises whenever I kiss
my girlfriend tells me it's all in my head
but my stomach tells me to write you instead
signed "noise-maker"
noise-maker, noise-maker
you have no complaint ...
dear abby : dear abby
well I never thought
that me and my girlfriend would ever get caught
we were sitting in the back seat just shooting the breeze
with her hair up in curlers and her pants to her knees
signed "just married"
just married : just married
you have no complaint ...
For the following CHORD section, fullscreen/horizontal mobile is recommended.
Chords in brackets may be omitted.
G dear abby dear abby C G my feet are too long Em A D my hair's falling out and my rights are all wrong G G7 C G my friends they all tell me that I've no friends at all Em D G won't you write me a letter won't you give me a call C D G signed bewildered
