The First Showboat

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.




http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vsCSPT_TmVs