The First Showboat Harmonica Tabs

Harp Type: Unknown

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Genre: Country

Key: Any

Harp Type: Diatonic

Skill: Any

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The First Showboat Harmonica Tab

This is a song from the “Night After Night” album by Jerry Jeff
Walker. It’s one that really caught my ear. The link below is a
rather butchered video of me playing the first part, so you can hear
what should be the melody.

Ya know a mile ’round the bend on the O-hi-o
6 6 6 5 6 6 6 6 6 5 6 6

Com-in’ up the riv-er for the Sun-day show
-6 -6 -6 -6 -6 6 -5 -5 5 -5 6

There’s a tub-a and a ban-jo
6 6 5 6 6 5 6 6

and a steam ca-li-o-pe
6 6 5 6 6 5 6

Way in the back is a big pad-dle-wheel
-6 -6 -6 -6 6 -5 5 -5 6 -6

Chorus:
What a thrill it must have been
7 7 8 8 8 8 8

Play-in Dix-ie with the folks
8 8 -8 7 7 -6 7

Up and down the river on the first show boat
-8 -8 -8 -8 8 -8 7 7 -6 7 7
Repeat chorus

Mom-ma took the kids, Pop-pa took the lunch,
5 6 6 5 6 5 6 6 5 6

The gents took the Belles,
6 -6 -6 -6 -6

And the whis-key took the drunks.
6 -5 5 5 -5 6 -6

But the big-gest thrill of all,
6 6 5 6 6 5 6

Ya know it had to be,
6 5 6 6 5 6

Was sitt-in in the back
6 -6 -6 -6 -6 -6

Play-in steam ca-li-o-pe
6 -5 5 5 -5 6 -6

Play chorus twice, then Dixie

O I wish I wa-as in the Land of Cot-ton
6 5 4 4 4 -4 5 -5 6 6 6 5

Way down South we’re not for-got-ten
-6 -6 -6 -6 6 -6 6 -6 6

Look a-way, look a-way, look a-way Dix-ie-land
-6 -7 7 6 5 6 5 4 5 -4 5 4

Well there’s mag-ic in the air,
6 6 5 6 6 5 6

The rid-dles and the rhymes,
6 5 6 6 5 6

(Slow down for this line)
It’s slow and eas-y in the sum-mer-time
6 -6 -6 -6 6 -5 5 5 -5 6

Yeah, but who’d have e-ver thought,
6 6 5 6 6 5 6

The day would come to be,
6 5 6 6 5 6

There’s oil on the wat-er
6 -6 -6 -6 -6 6

where the riv-er used to be.
-5 5 5 5 -5 6 -6

Chorus twice, followed by Dixie

Yeah, a mile down the bend on the O-hi-o
6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 5 6 6

Com-in’ up the riv-er for the Sun-day show
-6 -6 -6 -6 -6 6 -5 5 -5 6 -6

Chorus several times, followed by Dixie.

The First Showboat Lyrics

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